It's Not Supposed to be this Way
by MsKylie93
Summary: Puck and Quinn are good friends, nothing more.  But when Puck, Finn, Rachel and Quinn head to a college football game, things turn out much differently than expected.  Who knew that a kiss-cam could change so much?  Quick, minor Finchel, and other couples
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note:**

_Hey guys! So I started this story a little while ago but I was too nervous to upload it! I finally decided to summon the courage, so here goes nothing! This story is set after senior year and everything that has happened up to the Christmas Episode in the show has happened in the story… Puck and Quinn are just good friends and Quinn is living in NYC. This chapter is really short, but future ones will be longer and more dramatic!_

_Please read and review and tell me if I should continue :) it would mean a lot to me. _

**Disclaimer: **

_I don't own Glee or any of the characters _

Quinn checked herself in the mirror one last time before she headed out the door. She pulled down her dark grey fitted sweatshirt and grabbed her black sunglasses of the near by table, sliding the sleek frames onto her heart shaped face. She smiled at herself in the reflection, finally feeling at peace with herself and her life. She couldn't believe that she was actually in New York, going to University, with her former archenemy. It all felt a bit unbelievable but looking back, it was Quinn's senior year that had helped her become who she was. Although it started off a bit shaky with bright pink hair, a Ryan Seacrest tattoo, and a stupid plan about getting back custody of her daughter, senior year was ultimately the year that Quinn found herself and was able to accept her past. It hadn't been easy but with the help of a few people she had been able to move on. Out of everyone, Puck had helped her the most, he called her out on her selfishness, helped her deal with her issues, and even made her realize that she did the right thing in giving Beth up. They actually became really good friends, having understood each other better than anyone else, which surprised everyone including themselves. The Unholy Trinity came into existence again and Quinn actually became great friends with everyone in the glee club, even Rachel. With a little encouragement from Rachel and Kurt, she decided to take the plunge, leave Lima, Ohio behind and embark on a new adventure with her best friends in the city that never sleeps: New York. She had contemplated Yale for a while but in the end, she decided she wanted to go somewhere completely different and new. Flash forward a couple of weeks and here Quinn was, ready to go to her first New York football game and she was excited.

"Hey Quinn," Rachel called from the next room over, "are you ready to go? Finn is picking us up downstairs in 5 minutes!"

"Yeah, I'm ready, let's head down," Quinn replied, grabbing her purse from the couch and the keys from the kitchen table before joining Rachel at the door.

They continued to gab to each other as they made their way down to the main floor of their apartment building, reminiscing about junior year when they did the Thriller performance at half time. The pushed open the glass doors and walked into the fresh autumn air, inhaling the fresh scent of crumpled up leaves. Sure enough, Finn was waiting for them. He and Rachel had stayed together senior year and were still going strong, they clearly loved each and Finn had even joined Rachel for school in New York. Quinn finally realized that her and Finn were never meant to be, she only dated him for her popularity and it was clear how much he loved Rachel and that would never change. He gave Rachel a quick kiss on the lips before enveloping Quinn into a huge bear hug. She felt so grateful that her and Finn were still friends after everything that had happened, they had a sibling type relationship and she wouldn't change a thing.

"We should get going, Puck's meeting us there in 15 or so minutes," Finn said.

"Puck? I thought Blaine was coming to the game? Quinn asked.

"He was going to but found out that he had a family thing back in Ohio. I was talking to Puck the other day and he mentioned something about driving up here soon, so I told him that we had an extra ticket to the game and of course he agreed. He'll be here for a few days, so we'll have to go sightseeing or something"

Quinn smiled, she hadn't seen Puck since the mid-August when she had left Ohio for University and he had gone to Rhode Island to take musical arts. Even though the schools were not that far apart, homework and everything else seemed to interfere with their schedules. But, if she was being completely honest with herself, she had missed him. He was one of the few people that Quinn felt she could really confide in.


	2. Chapter 2

The trio arrived at the Stadium 20 minutes later and none of them could find Puck anywhere. They searched the crowd for the mohawked boy with no such luck. Finally, Quinn caught a glimpse of a familiar face a couple feet away and pointed out the figure to Finn. At that moment, he turned around and instantly spotted Quinn, Rachel and Finn standing there, a huge grin spreading over his face. He quickly made his way over, pushing through the flocks of people, and sweeped Quinn up in his arms, setting her down on the ground gently, before leaning in to give Rachel a kiss on the cheek, and Finn a quick hug and slap on the back.

"How are you Q? I've missed you, there's no High Bitch around to help keep my baddassness down!"

"As shocked as I am to admit this, I've missed you too," Quinn said, smirking.

"Some things truly never change," Finn remarked, pulling Rachel in close to his side and kissing the top of her head.

The four friends had finally found their seat and after picking up popcorn and twizzlers, were finally able to comfortable establish themselves. Quinn and Rachel sat in the middle with both Puck and Finn on their respective sides. They were all having a good time, cheering, booing, and recalling old high school stories, while planning the rest of their trip together. Puck and Quinn seemed to be very engaged in a story about some prank that Mike had pulled on Tina, when all of the sudden Finn got this slightly amused but worried look on his face.

"What's the matter with you Finn, you look constipated or something" Rachel questioned. He didn't respond, just pointed to the jumbo screen which had decided that this was the perfect moment to catch a lucky "couple" on the kiss cam. Rachel's eyes grew wide as she finally saw what Finn had been looking at, before hearing the crowd chant "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" She desperately shook her head and motioned a strong "no" but the camera refused to move positions. Puck and Quinn, obviously oblivious to the fact that both their faces were on the screen, continued on with their regular conversations.

"Hey Rach, remember that one time whe-" Quinn paused, realizing that she didn't have Rachel's full attention. "Hey are you even listening to me?" she asked, waving a perfectly manicured hand in front of Rachel's shocked face."

"Yeah what is up with you two, you look like you ate a bad burrito or something," Puck joked.

Neither Finn nor Rachel moved from their position, their eyes glued on the jumbo screen. Simultaneously, Puck and Quinn turned to look at whatever had captured their friends attention.

Quinn saw it first, the outline of a heart surrounding their two faces. The word "KISS" published under it in huge pink letters. She gulped, her eyes widening. Puck, also shocked, remained motionless for a few seconds. He didn't even completely understand why this was such a big deal to him, he had kissed plenty of girls before, but Quinn had always meant something different to him, something more.

The audience chants got louder and louder, Quinn still remained speechless and frozen in spot. Knowing he had to do something, Puck slowly leaned in and gave Quinn a chaste kiss on the lips, his hazel eyes locking with her's as they pulled apart. He forgot what it was like to kiss Quinn Fabray. He forgot how it made him feel like nothing else mattered, how every thought left his body the moment her lips made impact. Quinn forgot what it was like to kiss Puck. She forgot the way his lips molded perfectly onto hers as if they were meant for each other. The small touch between them had irrupted so much emotion. In their minds, the crowd went silent, and the thud of their hearts beating could be heard across the field. They didn't notice the loud applause of the crowd or the looks Rachel and Finn were giving them. Without even thinking, they both leaned in again. This time, they interlocked in a heat of passion. His hands brushed through Quinn's short blonde hair before placing themselves on her hips, while her hands wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer.

After what seemed like an eternity, they both broke apart, their breaths ragged from the intense kiss they both just shared. Quinn averted her eyes away, a blush creeping up onto her cheeks from the loud wooing coming from the crowd. She knew that she should be questioning her actions right now, and she should be remorseful that she kissed Puck, but she couldn't stop thinking how amazing it had been. It took every bit of control in her body to prevent herself from scrambling over the seat, placing herself in his lap and kissing him again. Puck sat there motionless, his eyes wide and his mind going a mile a minute. He let himself glance at Quinn, even though his mind was telling him not too for fear that he would kiss her again, to find her looking at him with those beautiful hazel eyes of hers. She smiled first and he followed, both of them breaking out into a chuckle at the strange situation. They were both in their own land, totally forgetful that they were in a stadium of people and that their best friends were sitting right beside them.

"Well, I haven't seen that sight in a while," Finn commented, leading Rachel to give him a swift elbow to the stomach.

Puck and Quinn laughed at the situation, grateful that someone had finally spoken up and had been able to relieve some of the tension but it quickly found its way back.

"Well that was..."Quinn started to say, unsure of what she should say exactly.

"Ugh yeah..."

"We just got caught up in the moment, that's all," she finished.

It was more than a moment though, something within her had changed with that kiss, she felt complete again. It was almost as if her heart had been made a little more whole. She had felt something in that kiss that she hadn't felt in a long time. She missed him, his touch, his tenderness. "No, stop thinking these things Quinn, it was just a fluke, there's no way Puck's thinking the same thing so just drop it" her brain told her, but her heart was telling her otherwise.

Puck felt his heart drop a little when she said those words, but he decided to just go along with it and nod. He tried to convince himself that it was probably for the better anyway, they would just go back home and continue living their individual lives. But he couldn't completely believe himself, he knew that the kiss meant something, it ignited something inside him and he knew that he would not be able to shake the feeling it brought.

They both settled back into their seats, an awkwardness overwhelming the four friends,

When some guy in the background decided to pip up,

"Hey dude, if your not gonna tap that, than I totally will. I mean who wouldn't bang her?"

All four spun around in their seats and glared at the direction the voice came from.

Something in Puck snapped and he felt this strong urge to punch the guy in the face for saying something so rude to Quinn.

"You leave her alone, you here me you little shit. My buddy and I would be more than happy to come up there and have a little chat with you on how to respect a woman. You here me?"

The guy nodded and mumbled a quick apology before turning around.

"Good."

Rachel started laughing uncontrollably like she often does and Quinn let herself smile. It felt good to have someone protecting her for once, especially when that person was Puck.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: **Wow, thanks so much to everyone who has alerted this story, you all make me so happy! Special thanks to andsoitis2 for my first ever review! Here is the third chapter, it is sort of a filler but the next chapter, will have more drama!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Glee, or else 75% of the episode would contain Quick scenes :P

A few days had passed since the football game and although things were a little awkward between Puck and Quinn at first, things were practically back to normal. While lying in bed one morning a few days later, Quinn let her mind wander back to the night after the football game.

_Finn had drove them home from the game back to their apartment, where the friends had decided to order pizza and hang out before calling it a night. Of course Rachel insisted that she go with Finn to pick up the pizza, leaving Puck and Quinn together alone. They stared at each other for a long time before Puck finally spoke up,_

"_Look Q, I'm sorry about the k-, what happened at the game, it was impulsive and I didn't think it through. I don't want things to be awkward between us because of it; I mean your one of my best friends and we have so much history together, and it was totally my fault and-_

"_Puck," Quinn interrupted his rambling, "It takes two people to kiss okay, its not a big deal, I mean we brought a little girl into the world, you saw me give birth!" she winced. "I don't think one kiss will change anything" (her thoughts are telling her otherwise). "We'll just agree to forget about it okay?"_

"_Deal" he said, holding out his hand, which she eagerly shook. "Now come here," Puck said, leaning in to give Quinn a hug, "We have lots to catch up on..."_

_And so all mentions of the kiss were dropped, even though beneath the surface, they were both struggling with accepting it._

"QUINN! ARE YOU UP YET," Rachel screamed through Quinn's bedroom door.

"Jeez, Rachel, just because your up doesn't mean we all have to be"

"Don't give me that attitude Fabray, we're leaving in 45 minutes for breakfast, don't be late!"

"Yes mame," Quinn whispered under her breath, dragging her body out of bed and into the shower. After she had done her hair and makeup, she slipped on a nice pair of skinny jeans and black cardigan before heading downstairs.

xxxxx

Puck felt himself suck in some air when he saw Quinn coming down the steps of the apartment building, her shoulder length hair flowing in the gentle breeze and a grin plastered over her face made her seem even more beautiful. This was the Quinn he fell in love with, this was the Quinn he knew. He smiled, happy that she had been able to get over the difficult couple years of her life and put herself back on the right track. If someone told him at the beginning of senior year that he would be best friends with freaking Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray, he would have considered you insane. But more often than not, things change for the better, as Quinn had proven.

The girls hopped in the car, sharing good mornings with the guys and off they went to breakfast, before Puck had to make the commute back home to Rhode Island.

xxxxx

After breakfast, Puck and Finn had gone to get gas next door, so Quinn and Rachel had decided to stay in the foyer of the restaurant and wait for the guys to come back and pick them up.

"So what's going on with you and Puck?"

"What do you mean, nothing's going on"

"Don't pull that crap with me Quinn, you and I both know that something is going on"

Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Aha! I knew it! Now spill"

"God, will you relax Rachel! Nothing is going on, yeah we kissed, and you were there for that... I remember it much too clearly. But other than that there is nothing going on, I swear"

"Did the kiss feel like nothing?"

Quinn paused, giving Rachel the answer that she wanted.

"OH MY GOSH! What was it like? Do you like him? Are you going to tell him?"

"Whoa, calm down. First of all, it was ... amazing. I haven't felt that way in such a long time Rich, probably not since Beth was born. It was like my heart, which has always felt a bit empty, was made whole again. It seemed like everything I've been looking for was suddenly found. So yeah, I guess I like him again, but if I am truthful with myself, I don't think I ever really stopped."

"Oh my gosh, I am so happy for you! How are you going to tell him?"

"I'm not."

Rachel's jaw dropped.

"What do you mean, You're not? You have to tell him Quinn!"

"No, there's too much history there. I can't risk loosing him again. I would rather have him as my best friend than risk having a relationship that could fall apart."

"How do you know that will happen?"

"Its me, Rach, I screw everything up."

"That's not true Quinn, you've been thrown a lot of curve balls in life, but you've made it through every single one of them. I mean, look where you are in your life right now, anything's possible, you and Puck included. I think you should take the risk Q."

Quinn, who was close to tears at her friend's speech, reached over and grabbed her hand, "I love ya, you know?

"I know. I love you too."

"I want to, I really do, but I think I still have to work on myself for a bit first. There are a lot of things I still have to face."

Rachel gave her hand a squeeze, letting her know that it was ok.

"I understand and I'll be here every step of the way, Puck and Finn too."

Quinn let out a little smile, "Thank you," she whispered, choking up.

"Anytime."

xxxxx

Meanwhile at the gas station...

"Okay dude, so enough with the bullshit, what was it like kissing Quinn again?"

"Somehow I knew those words were going to come flying out of your mouth when we were alone."

"Come on, answer the question."

"It felt like -" he paused, thinking how it was even possible to articulate his emotions right now, "love."

Puck waited for Finn's sarcastic comment, something to tell him how he was such a girl and to grow a pair, but the opposite happened. Finn smiled, his signature charismatic grin spreading over his face.

"That's great man, so are you going to tell her?" he said, patting his friend on the back.

"I dunno. Part of me wants to, I really do. But another part of me knows that she deserves better."

"You one of the best guys I know, well despite the fact that you slept with Quinn when I was dating her and banged Rachel's mom, but that's all in the past," Finn joked, punching Puck in the arm.

"Ha ha, very funny, I've already repressed the latter event, you don't need to remind me again."

"Nah, I'm just joking. Honestly though, when you aren't trying so hard to be a badass, your a really great guy, a gentlemen even."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I know so."

"Thanks man, I just, I don't want to say something that will scare her and then have her back off. She's one of my best friends and I couldn't live without her. Part of me is still afraid of breaking her again, you know?"

"Puck, listen to me; if there's anyone out there that put Quinn back together again, it was you, okay? She was broken before you even knocked her up, with her family and all. You were the only one who wasn't afraid of being completely honest with her; you snapped her back into reality. It's impossible for you to break her when you were the glue that pieced her back together."

Puck just smiled at his friend, feeling so grateful that he had him in his life again.

"You and Quinn don't make sense together, but maybe that's why it works."

"Yeah, it's just hard. I'm in Rhode Island and she's here. If we are going to do it, I wanna do it right. I think I've just got to wait until the right moment presents itself, she deserves to be treated right, after all she's been through."

Finn slapped him on the back and they pounded fists before heading back out to the car.

"You and Quinn are going to happen one of these days, I'm sure of it," Finn remarked as he opened the driver's side of the car.

Puck grinned, and softly added, "Yeah, I know."

xxxxx

Puck and Finn drove back to the restaurant to pick up the girls, honking the horn to let them know they were back.

As they walked outside, Quinn spoke up quietly, barely loud enough to be audible but just loud enough to let Rachel hear, "Someday it'll happen."

"What will happen?" Rachel questioned, although she was pretty positive she knew what Quinn was talking about.

"Puck and me."

"I know."

"I'll take the risk."

"Yeah, I know you will."

"And you know what?"

"What?"

"I can't wait for when that day comes."

_Please review, they make me happy! :)_

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

xxxx


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: Once again, thank you so much to all the lovely people who have read and reviewed this story. It really makes me happy and gives me motivation! This chapter is a lot more Quinn-centric with a Quinn/Rachel/Finn friendship, but the next one will involve a lot more Puck! Again, thanks so much guys :D I appreciate each and every comment! **

It had been a month since Puck had gone back home, and things had gone back to normal between the two of them; they would still email one another and talk on the phone occasionally, but now that it was mid-November, they were both swarmed with school work. However, some days Quinn would lie awake in bed and think about the kiss and what it meant. She wondered what would have happened if she never cheated on Finn with Puck, or if she had decided to keep her baby girl? Would she be lying in bed next to Finn right now, or would she be dressing Beth in frilly pink clothes, would she be closer with her family? Today was no different, and although she knew she needed to stop thinking about the past, there were just so many what-ifs that it was almost impossible not to think about them. A loud ringing coming from the bedside table soon interrupted her thoughts.

"Ughh… seriously, who calls at 6:00 in the morning?" Quinn spoke out loud to herself. Nevertheless, she rolled over and grabbed the phone off her nightstand, not bothering to look at the Caller ID.

"Hello?" she said groggily, not fully woken up yet.

"Quinn."

It was her mother. Her mom never called, ever. An occasional email here and there telling Quinn what was new in Lima, but never a phone call. Their relationship had always been a bit strained ever since freshman year and the pregnancy. She appreciated that her mom came back, and offered her support with Beth, but there was still something incomplete in their relationship.

"Mom? Why are you calling?" Quinn asked, wincing as the words came out slightly harsher than she intended. She tried to soften her approach a bit, "Is everything okay?"

"No," Judy Fabray choked out, "It's your father, he..he…had a h-heart attack this morning and…"

Quinn felt her body freeze and her mouth go dry. She tried to speak but nothing came out; she didn't know what to say or what to do. Her mind was trying to process all the information, but it was too much in the early morning. She raked a hand through her short blonde hair, feeling her heart beat faster, waiting to hear the next sentence out of her mother's lips. Quinn didn't share a very good relationship with her father over the last few years, scratch that – she didn't have a relationship with him at all - but she never expected to receive this news so suddenly.

"He… he didn't make it."

Quinn gulped. She knew that her mom was going to say that, but she didn't expect the wave of emotion she would feel after hearing it. She felt numb, and empty. She felt like she was going to throw up or faint, or maybe both. To steady herself, she leaned over and grabbed onto the headboard of the bed. A single tear falling down her cheek.

"Quinnie…say something," Judy said, the emotion and sadness evident in her voice.

"Mom, I – I don't know what to say, except that I'm sorry. I guess I should go book a flight," Quinn said as she pulled the phone away from her ear and went to hit the end button, crawling out of bed in the process. She just wanted this conversation to be over, so that she could try and comprehend everything.

"Wait, Quinnie…don't hang up yet."

That made Quinn stop, her finger frozen over the red button on the phone. She didn't say anything though, simply waited for her mother to continue.

"I know, it's hard for you after everything that happened, but I hope that you'll put that aside for the funeral and everything," Judy said, still crying.

Quinn wanted to say something so badly at that moment. She wanted to tell her mother that she was sick of hiding her feelings under the carpet, that she didn't care about their perfect family reputation anymore, that she just wanted to cry and yell and scream. However, she decided to shut her mouth and do what a Fabray does best – pretend that everything is okay even when it clearly isn't.

"Of course, and I'll see you later this afternoon."

"Thanks Quinnie,"

Quinn didn't bother responding to the last statement, as she let her finger finally press down firmly on the button, ending the call.

xxxxxx

Quinn paused at her bedroom door before walking out into the living room. She couldn't believe that her father was gone. There were so many emotions bottled up inside her – anger, fear, regret, sadness – and she didn't know what one to focus on first. Taking a deep breathe, and rubbing her eyes, she walked outside to find Rachel sitting on the couch, drinking a cup of coffee, not that she needed the extra dose of energy in the morning.

"Good morning Quinn!" Rachel said, much too cheerfully.

"Hey."

Rachel set her coffee cup down and turned around to face Quinn again, knowing that something was wrong with her best friend.

Quinn continued on, "I have to go to Lima today…. It's my dad, he umm…had a heart attack this morning, and didn't –" she paused, not quite able to say the words out loud, "he didn't make it."

Rachel got up and wound her arms tightly around Quinn, holding her close. She felt so bad for her friend right now; she knew that Quinn must be hurting, but she knew that she was probably feeling quite a bit angry as well. After all, she hadn't seen her father since he kicked her out when she was pregnant. She couldn't even fathom how much Quinn must be experiencing right now.

"I'm so sorry Quinn. I'm so, so sorry. It's okay to let it all out, and cry or scream."

"It's not that I'm trying to not cry, … I just can't seem to shed any tears. I feel like such a bad person, but I just – I don't know what to feel right now Rach. "

"Quinn, you are not a bad person. You and your dad had a very complex relationship, it's okay to be sad but it's also okay to be angry at him too… I can't even imagine what it must be like."

"Thanks, I just wish it didn't have to be like this."

"I know."

"I need to book a flight, I said I would be there this afternoon."

"I'm coming with you, and so is Finn, I'm making the decision for him."

"Rachel, I can't ask you guys to do that."

"You're not asking me, I'm telling you, and you know I don't like it when I don't get my way," Rachel remarked, giving Quinn a quick wink.

Quinn decided not to fight her on this one, even though she knew Rachel was joking with her last remark, she wasn't lying – she could put up a pretty big fight.

"Well, thank you, I honestly don't know what I would do without you guys."

"The feeling is likewise."

xxxxx

"Ugh, I can't believe that you spilt coke all over my sweater Finn, you are so clumsy," Rachel scolded him. They had hit some pretty bad turbulence on the way down, and Finn had accidently split his pop all over Rachel.

"I didn't mean to do it."

Rachel rolled her eyes. They had just gotten of the plane and were on their way to the baggage claim, and she felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb due to the patch of the brown sticky substance on her favourite mustard yellow sweater.

"Everyone's looking at me."

"They are not looking at you Rach."

Quinn laughed, the familiar Finchel bickering easing a bit of the tension she was experiencing at the moment.

Suddenly a familiar but unknown voice spoke up, "Berry, if people are staring at you it's probably because of that weird sweater you're wearing, not because of the coke stain."

Quinn let out a laugh before realizing whom the voice belonged to. She spun around quickly, finding herself face to face with Puck.

"Oh my gosh! What are you doing here?" she asked, stunned that Puck was standing next to her in the small Lima airport.

"Berry told me about your dad, and I thought you could do with some additional moral support. I'm really sorry to here about what happened Q."

"You flew all the way over here?" Quinn asked, getting choked up over everything her friends had done for her lately.

"Sure did," Puck replied softly.

"Thank you," Quinn whispered, leaning in and giving him a hug.

xxxxx

Two days had passed since they had arrived in Lima, and Quinn was already tired of her mother. Normally, Quinn could deal with her mother's need to have everything prim, proper and in place, but today it was driving her up the wall. Her sister, Frannie, wasn't any better. They hadn't seen each other in almost four years, and things were definitely awkward. Frannie had given Quinn a huge hug the first time they saw each other, and she tried to engage in a conversation with her, immediately drawing the, "it's so terrible that we have to be reunited under these circumstances," card, which she had used numerous times since then. Her sister hadn't talked to her in forever, and now she was being all sweet and charming. Quinn was much less than willing to reciprocate the feelings. She still was upset that her family was making everything out to be a lot better than it really was. She didn't understand how they could just pick up from where they left off, pretending like nothing had happened to pull them apart in the first place. Attempting to be civil and polite towards her family only took Quinn so far; she had to excuse herself multiple times from the conversation just to escape the familiar Fabray antics. Often, she would end up crawled underneath the winter coats in the front closest, crying her eyes out, just like she used to do when she was a child.

On the day of the funeral, she found herself in that exact position. Crouched down on the closet floor, taking a few deep breathes. It seemed to be the only place Quinn could go these days without anybody finding her.

At that moment, Finn walked in, and practically jumped out of his pants, not expecting to see someone in the foyer closet.

"Shit, Quinn, you scared me half to death."

"Sorry, I just needed to take a moment, before everything happens…I don't know what to feel, and that scares me."

Finn crouched down beside her, and put his arm around her. "There's no right way Quinn, I know that's probably not the answer you're looking for, but it's the truth… it's okay to not know."

Quinn looked up at Finn, and nodded slightly, "I just don't know why I'm not crying."

"I do."

Quinn gave him a puzzled look, "You do?"

"Can I be completely honest with you?"

Quinn nodded.

"I think you let out all your tears for your father a really long time ago." Finn paused, seeing a confused look still perched on Quinn's face, "maybe that doesn't make much sense right now, but I think you'll understand what I'm trying to say soon."

"Thanks Finn, for always being my friend, even after everything that's happened between us. I'm really sorry for all the pain I've caused you."

"Hey, its okay Quinn…" Finn said gently, "We wouldn't be standing here today if it wasn't for all that stuff that happened, right?" Finn replied, standing up, and holding out a hand for her to grab onto, pulling her up to her feet. "I think we were always meant to have a place in each other's lives, it just took us a while to figure out what that place was."

Xxxxx

The rest of the morning went by like a blur, and Quinn had managed to contain her emotions fairly well. It was the eulogy now, and Quinn was sitting in the front row, listening to some old friend of her father's give a speech. She had to consciously force herself not to roll her eyes or make a sarcastic comment whenever people mentioned how amazing of a man and father Russell Fabray was. She knew the truth. She started to daydream a bit, thinking about how quickly the last few years of her life had flown by, when she heard her mother's name called. Quinn watched as Judy smoothed out her skirt and walked towards the podium, looking as perfect and poised as ever. Quinn felt Rachel tighten her grip on the hand she was holding, and Quinn was extremely grateful for the extra reassurance. Although she was pretty sure that she was cutting off Rachel's circulation from holding on so tight, she couldn't bring herself to let go.

"Russell Fabray was a good man. He was smart, courageous, and a fighter," Judy began. "Even though we divorced, I will never forget the wonderful memories I shared with him, and our two lovely daughters – Quinn and Frannie. Russell was a businessman, a friend, a confidant, but above everything else, he was a father. He treated our daughters with the utmost amount of respect and devotion…"

Quinn felt Rachel's grip on her hand tighten even more, and she could feel as Puck's concerned gaze fell on her face. It felt like the temperature in the room rose several degrees, and that the walls were closing in. She couldn't believe how her mother was capable of lying so effortlessly, Russell had kicked Quinn out when she was pregnant and he had cheated on Judy with some random woman, and here she was praising him beyond belief.

"We had our ups and downs as a family, but I can honestly say that Russell would do anything for Frannie and Quinn. He loved them more than anything else in the world, and he never did them wrong."

Quinn couldn't take it anymore. The tears started to fall down her cheeks, and she felt like she was going to throw up from all the anger. She stood up suddenly, needing to get out of the room immediately. She ran down the aisle, never looking back, not once caring about the looks she was receiving or what everyone thought of her. She was sick and tired of pretending, and she wasn't willing to do it any longer. On the way out, she let the door slam behind her, not giving a damn about upholding the perfect Fabray reputation.

**Please Review, it makes me write faster! :D**

**Hope you are all having a fantastic holiday season :) **

**xxx **


	5. Chapter 5

**Once again, thank you all so much for the supportive reviews! They make me so happy! Originally, this chapter was going to be a lot longer, but it was getting a little too long, so I decided to split it up into two parts. The second part should be up soon :) I hope everyone had an incredible News Years, happy 2012!**

Puck, Rachel and Finn watched silently as Quinn stood up and ran out of the room, letting the door shut loudly behind her. Rachel stood up to go after her, but Puck gently pulled her back down into her seat.

"Stay, I'll go talk to her," Puck said quietly.

Rachel nodded, and turned her attention back to the front, where Judy had already recovered from the intrusion and was now continuing on with her speech.

Puck stood up and walked quickly out of the room. He expected to see Quinn sitting outside of the doors, but she was nowhere in sight. He walked down a couple of hallways and peeked into multiple rooms with no such luck. Finally, he caught a glimpse of blonde hair out of the corner of his eye. He walked until he found Quinn, sitting by herself on a bench in the corner, tears streaming down her face. The sight alone reminded him of freshman year and the day that Finn found out he wasn't the father. Much like that day, Puck had followed a tearful Quinn out of the room, with the intention of comforting her, to find her sitting alone and crying.

He walked up to Quinn and sat down next to her on the bench. Wordlessly and without really thinking, he reached down and grabbed her hand, interlacing his calloused fingers with her long, slender ones. Puck fully expected her pull her hand back, Quinn was always so cautious when it came to showing her emotion, so he was surprised when he felt her tighten her grip on his hand instead. Puck turned to look at her, his eyes full of worry, but Quinn kept her gaze focused straight ahead. He watched as the tears fell down her face, he wanted to wipe them away but resisted the action, knowing that the tears would help Quinn heal in the long run.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, fingers still interlocked, both staring straight ahead. Puck waited patiently for Quinn to talk first; he didn't want to push her because she had been through so much crap, and she probably wasn't quite ready to reveal it all just yet. The feeling of having Puck's hand in hers, gave Quinn a form of comfort that she hadn't felt in a long time. She had so much to say, but she wasn't sure where to start. However, sitting there next to Puck made her feel safe, like she was protected from all the hurt, sadness and pain she had felt so many times in her life. Quinn had been through so much and although she was strong, sometimes she just needed someone to hold her hand and tell her everything was going to be okay.

"I hate him," Quinn blurted out, still crying heavily. Neither of them needed Quinn to specify whom exactly she was referring to.

"Me too," Puck said, without thinking.

Quinn turned to look at him, and he swore he saw a small smile on her face from underneath the tears.

"I've never said that out loud before, I know that it makes me sound horrible, but I just – I just don't care anymore. I'm so tired of hiding my feelings. "

"Your not horrible Q, you have every right to say it."

"I was his little girl Puck. He was always so…so proud of me: I was captain of the Cheerios, president of the celibacy club, a straight A student," Quinn said, the sadness clearly evident in her voice. "Growing up, I always thought that my daddy was the best. He would do anything for me, anything. He loved me so damn much. And then…then one day, I made a little mistake. I don't even consider it a mistake now, maybe a tiny bump in the road, but not a mistake. If I'm being truthful, I was more scared of telling him than I was about the pregnancy. I wasn't even scared of his reaction, I was scared of disappointing him, of letting him down."

Puck gave Quinn's hand a squeeze, encouraging her to go on. He was proud that Quinn was finally telling someone everything she had been through, and he liked that the person she chose to confide in was him.

"I still felt bad afterwards, like I was the horrible one, like I should be the one to apologize, even though he disowned me," Quinn spoke, she was full out sobbing now and the tears were coming down her face quickly. She had given up on trying to wipe them away.

"I tried…so many times, but he wouldn't return my calls, or emails," she stopped talking for a second, and let out a couple of tearful sobs. "I never told anyone this before, but I saw him once," Quinn said as she turned to face Puck fully now. He raised his eyebrows, surprised at what Quinn just told him.

"Where?"

"Starbucks. I caught a glance of him at the other end of the counter, but it was so busy in there that I wasn't even sure if it was him at first. But he turned his head at exactly the right moment, and we locked eyes. I know that he saw me, but he turned around and headed out in the opposite direction, not even bothering with his coffee. I hated him so much in that moment; he treated me like a complete stranger. I went after him but he had already disappeared."

"Q…" he didn't know what to say, Quinn had just spilled her guts out to him, and he didn't know what to say that could make her feel any better. "You don't deserve that, he was an asshole."

"I went from being his little girl, to being no one, and that hurt so much. The part that makes me the saddest though, is that," she paused, resting her head on her hands and she took a deep breath in, "it's that his reaction to the pregnancy made me question whether or not he ever really loved me to begin with. I mean, how could someone do that to someone they truly love? How could he kick me out? Sometimes I worry that he only loved me, because," Quinn let out a sob as she wiped away a tear, "because it helped his reputation that people liked me for being so goddamn perfect."

"Quinn, no one's perfect. Shit, your dad made an ample amount of mistakes too. In fact, he made the worst mistake of all: he didn't realize how incredibly amazing, smart, strong willed…and beautiful his daughter is. He let go of the one good thing in his life Q… and that's you."

Quinn smiled through the tears, so thankful that she had Puck by her side.

"Thank you," she whispered.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while, as Quinn collected herself a bit.

"I wrote him a letter, a year or so ago after the whole Shelby debacle, telling him every single thing that I wanted to say. I told him I was mad at him and that I was sorry I disappointed him. It was five fricken pages long, back to back. I just wrote and wrote until I finally didn't have anything to say anymore. It sat on my desk for a week until I finally decided to send it. I don't even know if he got the letter, he never replied, not that I expected him to. I just always imagined that one-day, he would show up on my doorstep, and we would work through everything. And now…now that chance is gone forever. I think that's why I'm so mad at him, because he never came and found me even after I made the first step. "

Puck was stunned after hearing Quinn admit everything, so he said the first thing that popped into his mind, "I'm proud of you."

Quinn felt something strange happen when he said that, but she ignored the feeling, not wanting to complicate things anymore than they already were. "For what?"

"For sending the letter, standing up for yourself. I know what it's like to have a father who doesn't care, and what you did Q, it took guts. You did something that most people don't have the strength to do, and even though it might not have worked out the way you wanted it to, you were the bigger person. You did everything you could."

"I was tired of masking my feelings. It's always been the Fabray thing to do: hide the problem and it will go away. I just couldn't do it anymore. That's why I got so upset just now. Hearing my mom talk about how he was a great father, and how much he loved us, made me angry because I don't feel that way. It's just shoving the real issues to the back again. When my mom and sister talk like that, it feels like freshman year all over again, like I'm disappointing them."

"They weren't there for you when you needed them the most. To be completely honest, I think they've disappointed you a whole lot more than you've disappointed them."

Quinn nodded, letting the realization sink in. Puck squeezed her hand again, and she squeezed back.

"Maybe it's time you told them that."

Xxxx

After talking with Puck, Quinn had returned to the funeral. Most people had assumed that she had left because she was sad, and they kept coming up to her, offering their condolences and a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. She smiled appreciatively and thanked everyone for their support. However, she knew that later on the truth would come out – she couldn't avoid it any longer – and she planned on confronting her mother and sister after the funeral ended. Rachel, Finn and Puck hovered close by the whole time, making sure that she was okay. She was never more grateful for her friends. Even Santana and Brittany had called Quinn earlier to offer their support. Despite everything horrible she had done to them, she still had the most amazing friends that a person could ask for. She promised herself she would remember to thank them for that more often.

After the funeral, the Fabrays held a small gathering at their house. After everyone left, Puck, Rachel, Finn and Quinn had stayed behind to help Frannie and Judy clean up the house a bit.

Puck, knowing full well that Quinn wanted to talk with her family, proposed that him, Rachel and Finn go clean up the kitchen, leaving Quinn alone with her mother and sister in the family room. He locked eyes with Quinn before he left, giving her an encouraging nod. Quinn smiled back, but she felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach – that feeling seemed to be accompanying her a lot lately. The Fabray women continued to clean silently for a while; as she swept the floor, Quinn contemplated what exactly she was going to say.

Meanwhile, Rachel, Finn, and Puck all had their ears pressed to the kitchen door, trying to overhear the conversation that was about to happen. They didn't want to invade Quinn's privacy, but they wanted to make sure that she was doing okay. They predicted that things were about to get intense, and they wanted to be ready to jump to Quinn's aid, if need be.

Judy set down the cloth she was wiping the table with and turned to face Quinn. "I know it was difficult today Quinnie, but I just wanted to thank you for being so supportive. Everything is okay now."

Quinn sighed and let the broom fall to the floor, "No, it's not okay mom. It's never been okay," Quinn yelled.

"What do you mean Quinnie?"

"You damn well know what I mean. All we ever do in this family is sit back and pretend that everything is okay, but you know what? It's not! And I'm not going to stand by anymore and watch as you lie to protect our stupid reputation."

"Quinn, you're being ridiculous," Frannie piped in.

"Am I? I think that what I'm saying is completely reasonable. Mom, you say that dad loved us more than anything, that he always put us first, is that why he kicked me out then? Is that why he told me I wasn't his daughter anymore? Is that why he never called me, even after I made the first step and apologized for letting him down?" Quinn screamed, the tears streaming down her face. "I know this is a hard time, but don't you see how horrible you made me feel today when you went on about how great a father Russell Fabray was…because to me, he wasn't. Pretending that everything is okay, by hiding away everything that's sad and painful, isn't going to make it any better. It took me a long time to figure that out."

Judy and Frannie stood there shocked. All three of the Fabray women had tears coming down their cheeks.

"I know that I disappointed you guys, but you disappointed me more. You weren't there for me when I you needed the most. I love you both so much – but you didn't stand up for me or help me when I was going through a tough time. I needed my mom and my big sister, but you were too afraid. You were afraid that daddy would hate you just as much as he hated me if you loved and supported me, that he would accuse you of taking my side. Mom, you came back to me, and I'm grateful for that, but you should've been there at the very beginning, not just the end." Quinn took a deep breath before continuing on, "It wasn't just the pregnancy. I was a mess last year – I had pink hair, I wore horrible clothes, I smoked. You saw this happening to me mom, but you choose to pretend it wasn't there it. You didn't want to admit that the mess of a girl that was walking around was your daughter. I was in so much pain, that all I wanted to do was to make it go away by inflicting my pain onto others. All I wanted was to feel needed by someone, I wanted my baby back, I wanted a guy to actually love me and mean it."

Judy put her hand on Quinn's arm, but she shrugged it off.

"And Frannie, you haven't called me in four years, and you're my big sister! Your baby sister needed you more than anyone else, and you weren't there for her. I was pregnant, alone, and scared, no one cared about me! You knew all of this, and you never called, not even on my birthday or at Christmas! You were always the perfect daughter Frannie, and you don't think I realized that, but I did. Every single day, I would feel the pressure to be just as amazing and well rounded as you are. When I got pregnant, I ruined all my chances of ever living up to the standards you set for me. You were scared that dad would find out if you helped me, and that you would loose your first place status with him."

Frannie stepped towards Quinn, but she backed up, scared that her family would still hurt her somehow.

"My own family wasn't there for me, but you know who was? The glee club, the badass boy who knocked me up, the girl I used to be a complete bitch to and called man hands, the boyfriend I cheated on with his best friend. I was horrible to them, I treated them all like crap, but they," Quinn paused, letting out a sob before continuing, "they helped me through it. They forgave me for my mistakes, they consoled me when I was sad, they held my hand through the pain, and they gave me a place to say when I had absolutely nowhere else to go. If that's not love, then I don't know what is."

On the other side of the door, Puck, Finn and Rachel went silent. Finn quickly looked away before Puck could tease him for the tears welling up in his eyes; but as he glanced back, he noticed Puck blinking a couple of tears away too. Rachel looked like she was ready to bust through the door, and engulf Quinn in a giant hug. In fact, they all wanted to rush out and console Quinn. They wanted to tell her that they forgave her, that it wasn't all her fault, and that they loved her. However, they resisted the action, knowing that she needed to get all of her feelings out first.

"I'm so sorry we hurt you," Judy said tearfully, "I shouldn't have said those things today, I know that they aren't true…I just – I got so caught up in needing everything to be perfect. I should have helped you last year and when you were pregnant, and…and I know that now."

"I'm so sorry," Fran said gently. "I should've been there for you, I screwed up… I was scared."

"The last few days have been brutal on me, and not once, did either of you ask me how I was feeling. You just assumed that I was sad and upset like you were…but I didn't loose my dad a few days ago, I lost him three and a half years ago," Quinn exclaimed. The words tumbled out of her mouth before she even realized what she was saying. Suddenly, she understood what Finn had been trying to tell her the other day, she hadn't been crying these last few days because she wasn't sad, but because she had already shed tears for her father when he left her three years ago. Everything she had ever thought or felt had been said aloud, and she had never felt freer in her life. She felt like a large weight had been lifted of her shoulders. She took a deep breath and collapsed against the wall, falling to the floor, all of her energy gone from the rush of emotion.

When the room went silent, the trio rushed out from the kitchen and ran straight to Quinn. Finn gently picked her up off the ground, and everyone immediately embraced in a giant hug. Rachel whispered something to her about being brave, and Finn commented on how grateful he was to have her as a friend. She started tearing up again at how kind and supportive her friends were being. She didn't think that it was possible for her to cry anymore, but she proved herself wrong, as fresh tears began to stream down her face.

She locked eyes with Puck, letting a small smile spread across her face. He smiled back as he mouthed the words, "I'm so proud of you." Once again, Quinn felt the strange feeling arise within her at hearing Puck say those words. It made her feel happy and light, and this time she decided to embrace the feeling instead of pushing it away.

"Come on, let's go Q, you can stay with me. If you like." Puck said.

Still slightly overwhelmed with everything, Quinn just nodded, letting him grab her by the hand and gently pull her outside into the cool air.

As Quinn looked up into the night sky, she realized that even though there were still a lot of hills left for her to conquer, she had managed to make it over the first one. She had come out stronger than before, and sometimes, that's all that matters.

**Please Review !**

**xxx :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you all so much for the continuous support, every review means so much to me! I hope you like this chapter; I think it will tie up some loose endings for Quinn. In the next chapter, two lovers will exchange vows; can you guess who it will be? :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or the song "Bette Davis Eyes" sung by ****Kim Carnes**

Puck and Quinn rode back to his house in silence; but with them it was never uncomfortable. Hell, they could go a whole year without talking to one another and easily be able to pick up where they left of the next day. Puck appreciated that his relationship with Quinn was never really forced; he could call her out on being selfish and she could comment on how he was stuck up. Sure, they would always be pissed off at each other for a few days afterwards, but eventually one of them would pick up the phone and it would be like nothing ever happened.

As they pulled up in front of Puck's house, Quinn smiled at the familiar pussy willows growing in the garden and the warm light coming from inside that illuminated the house in a soft glow. She got out of the truck slowly, following Puck up the sidewalk and inside the house: the route was one she had taken so many times before, and she could probably walk it in her sleep.

"Where are your mom and Sarah?" Quinn asked; it was the first thing she had said to him since they had left her mom's house.

"Some spa retreat I think…they said they would be back in a couple of days."

Quinn just nodded, slightly disappointed that she wasn't going to be able to see them. Sarah was like a little sister to her, and although Puck's mom wasn't too fond of Quinn at first, they had grown pretty close when Quinn was living with them. She was hoping to at least say hello, but she figured that would have to wait for another time.

When they reached his room, Quinn took a deep breath, almost as if preparing herself for the memories that were about to be unleashed. When he opened the door, she was surprised to find that nothing much had changed since the last time she had been there. The only thing different was a picture that had been propped up on his desk: it was one of her, Beth and Puck, and it had been taken the day that Beth had been born. She smiled, glancing over at Puck to find him rummaging around in his closet. He turned around and held up a pair of old boxer shorts and a William McKinley football t-shirt.

"Do you want to wear these for the night?" he asked.

Quinn nodded, "thanks," she said as she reached out and grabbed them from him. Their fingers barely grazed each other in the process, but they both felt something when it happened. There was an unspoken moment between the two of them, and Puck wanted to lean in and kiss her so badly, but he forced himself not to.

"You can have the bed, I just washed the sheets today, I swear. I'll sleep on the couch," Puck said quickly, desperate to get out of the room before the feelings he was experiencing became stronger.

"Puck, no, I'll sleep on the couch…I can't ask you to do that, you've already done so much," Quinn said, pulling the t-shirt over her head, and discretely slipping her dress out from underneath.

"Don't be ridiculous Q," Puck remarked, his eyes looking for any place to land on that wasn't in her general direction.

"Fine, we share the bed then," Quinn said, as she lay down on the bed.

Puck's eyes shifted back to her gaze in surprise. Normally, he would jump at the chance to share a bed with Quinn, but tonight, he was afraid that he would somehow make a move and freak her out. He couldn't say no though, so he lay down on the bed next to her, feeling the heat radiating off of her body – or maybe he was just imagining that, either way, he liked it.

They both stared at ceiling for a long time, both of them thinking about freshman year when they had done the exact same thing. Neither of them brought it up though, they didn't have to.

"Thank you, Puck. For letting me stay here, supporting me and everything."

"I would do anything for you Q," the words slipped out of his mouth. He prayed that she wouldn't question him on what he just said. He probably wouldn't be able to explain it very well anyways. He turned over on his side, and looked at her apprehensively, but she just smiled shyly and reached to grab his hand. As Quinn stared intently at the ceiling, Puck stared at her; he was so struck by her: the way her blonde hair skimmed her shoulders, the way her eyelashes kept fluttering about, the way her lips were slightly parted…

"Some days, I feel so broken." Quinn admitted in a whisper, breaking Puck from his thoughts. "But tonight," she said as she turned over on her side to face him completely, "…tonight I feel free."

Puck grinned at her and squeezed her hand. The two of them laid in silence for quite a while, their bodies facing each other, as their fingers lay interlaced between them. They were both secretly savouring the closeness between them, but neither wanted to admit it to themselves.

"Good night, Puck," Quinn said softly, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.

"Night Q."

xxxxx

Quinn woke up in Puck's bed the next morning to the smell of bacon, and she let out a little chuckle at the familiarity of the situation. So many times during freshman year, she had woken up in the exact same situation; in fact, the only thing missing was the baby bump. She fondly remembered Puck cooking her bacon in secrecy so that his mother wouldn't find out that he had brought pork into the Jewish household. She dragged herself out of bed, and changed back into her dress from the day before, popping a piece of gum in her mouth in the process. She looked at Puck's old football t-shirt, and quickly shoved it in her purse – it reminded her of him and surely he wouldn't miss it. She combed her fingers through her hair as she followed the delicious scent of bacon down stairs. She was about to say good morning, but was stopped when she heard Puck humming quietly to himself. She tiptoed along the tiled floor and peeked out from behind the wall, careful not to notify him of her presence; she stifled a laugh when she saw Puck standing in the messy, flour-covered kitchen, swaying his hips to the music.

_Her hair is Harlow gold_

_Her lips sweet surprise_

_Her hands are never cold_

_She's got Bette Davis eyes_

Quinn smiled at hearing his voice, she missed hearing him sing in glee club; it had only been a year but it seemed like an eternity. She hadn't sung in forever either, she honestly hadn't really thought about it before, but hearing him sing made her want to join in.

_She'll turn her music on you_

_You won't have to think twice_

Quinn took a deep breath, and stepped out from behind her hiding spot, as she started to sing along with him.

_She's pure as New York snow_

_She got Bette Davis eyes_

Puck, taken by surprise at Quinn's voice, turned around and the two of them began singing the next few lines together.

_And she'll tease you_

_She'll unease you_

_All the better just to please you_

_She's precocious and she knows just_

_What it takes to make a pro blush_

_She got Greta Garbo stand off sighs_

_She's got Bette Davis eyes_

Puck grinned at her, Quinn was really the only person he knew who loved 1980s music as much as he did. When he used to drive her to school, they would always turn up the 80s station in the morning and sing out loud at the top of their lungs, not caring how horrible they sounded.

_She'll let you take her home_

_It whets her appetite_

_She'll lay you on her throne_

_She got Bette Davis eyes_

_She'll take a tumble on you_

_Roll you like you were dice_

_Until you come out blue_

_She's got Bette Davis eyes_

Leaning forward, Puck grabbed her hand and began spinning her around the kitchen.

_She'll expose you, when she snows you_

_Off your feet with the crumbs she throws you_

_She's ferocious and she knows just_

_What it takes to make a pro blush_

_All the boys think she's a spy_

_She's got Bette Davis eyes_

Quinn laughed, as the two of them danced around the kitchen, singing at the top of their lungs. She had never felt so carefree before and she savoured the feeling.

_And she'll tease you_

_She'll unease you_

_All the better just to please ya_

_She's precocious, and she knows just_

_What it takes to make a pro blush_

_All the boys think she's a spy_

_She's got Bette Davis eyes_

"Hey remember this?" Puck asked, as he reached into a bag of flour on the counter and threw a handful of it on her head.

"Hey!" Quinn exclaimed, "not as well as I remember this," she said, reaching over, plucking an egg off the counter and cracking it on his head.

They both broke out into laughter, as their food fight and playful bickering continued. They were both grinning, as they chased each other around the kitchen, careful not to slip on the flour covered floor.

_She'll tease you_

_She'll unease you_

_Just to please ya_

_She's got Bette Davis eyes_

_She'll expose you, when she snows you_

_She knows ya_

_She's got Bette Davis eyes_

As the song faded out, Puck and Quinn looked at each other and broke out into laughter again. Puck spun Quinn around once more, jokingly dipping her at the end. Quinn screeched, and she grabbed onto his shoulders to support herself. Grinning, Puck slowly brought her back to her feet, and the two watched each other carefully for a moment, their bodies only mere inches apart; Quinn felt a blush creep up onto her cheeks at the closeness. Last time this happened, Finn interrupted them, but Puck sure as hell wasn't going to let that happen again. He was going to kiss her. This was the right moment, he could feel it, and he didn't think that he could put it off for much longer. He leaned in, his face only a few inches away from hers; he could practically feel her breath on his skin….

Then the doorbell rang, instantly ruining the moment.

They froze in spot briefly, before breaking apart.

"I should…get that," Puck said, motioning towards the door.

Quinn nodded silently. She had wanted to kiss him so bad, she remembered from the football game how amazing and complete it had made her feel. However, she also knew that it was probably a good thing that it didn't happen, because it would just lead to more drama and they didn't need anymore of that in their lives.

"Quinn!," Puck yelled, bringing her out of her thoughts. She could here muffles coming from the front hall, but she didn't consider who it may be until he called her. It was her mother, no doubt. She wandered to the front door, where her assumptions were confirmed to be true. There, at Puck's front door, stood Frannie and her mother, looking rather disheveled, and their eyes rimmed in red from crying.

"Hi," was all Quinn could manage to say.

"Can we come in for a second?" Frannie softly asked.

Quinn looked at Puck, who nodded, "Of course," he said, pulling the door open and stepping aside to let them in.

They stepped inside sheepishly, almost afraid that they were intruding on something. Quinn watched as her mother glanced back and forth between her and Puck, probably trying to figure out if something had happened between them last night. She fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"Sorry about the…mess," Puck stated as he led them towards the kitchen, "I was just making breakfast…."

All of them turned their heads towards the kitchen, not because Puck had mentioned it though, but because something was definitely burning. None of them moved, all were slightly in shock from the awkward conversation.

"Puck, the waffles," Quinn said gently.

"Oh shit… I mean shoot," he said, quick to correct his language in front of Judy. " I better go take care of that, you guys can take a seat in here if you want?" he asked, motioning towards the living room. "I can bring you some coffee?" he offered, trying to butter up a little after swearing.

"Thank you Noah, but that won't be necessary," Judy said.

"Okay, I'll just…go," he said awkwardly, motioning with his head towards the kitchen. "God, what is wrong with me?" he thought, "I'm turning into Finn."

As soon as Puck left the room, Frannie spoke up immediately, "Why does he have an egg on his head?"

Quinn burst into laughter. She didn't expect that to be the first question out of her sister's mouth. The comment instantly made her feel more at ease in the situation, and she found herself wishing that she had more moments like this with Frannie. A sister was someone you should be able to laugh with until you pee your pants, or stay up late with telling secrets; she had never really had that kind of relationship with Fran, and it made her sad sometimes to think about all the things they missed out on.

"It's a long story," Quinn replied.

"Look," Frannie said, reaching across the table and grabbing Quinn's hand. "I'm sorry I was such a rotten sister. I should have been there for you. When I heard you were pregnant, I couldn't believe it and I didn't know what to do. I was caught in the middle: did I contact my baby sister, and risk upsetting my dad, or did I choose the safer option and side with him, but end up hurting you in the process? I made the wrong decision, and I know that now.

"Fran…"

"Just let me finish, okay?" Frannie asked softy, she was quite a bit emotional and needed to get the next few words of her chest.

Quinn nodded, and squeezed her sisters hand tor reassure her.

"Last night, you said that you felt pressure to live up to my standards… but truth is, you were accomplishing way more than I ever did, and that scared the crap out of me. I was worried dad would start to favour you more than me, so I used your pregnancy to position myself back in the top spot. I was jealous of you, and I used your pain to my advantage. I was selfish, and I'll never be able to forgive myself for doing that to you. I'm so sorry Quinn, if I could change things I would."

Quinn thought about everything for a few seconds, before coming back with a response, "I forgive you," she quietly stated.

"How come?"

Quinn shrugged, "I don't blame you for what you did."

"Why not?"

"I probably would have done the same thing. We were brought up thinking that being the best was the most important thing in the world, and you were just trying to achieve that. You didn't know any better."

"But I should have."

"You know now, that's all that matters."

"How did you come to figure this all out."?

"I had a lot of help," Quinn replied, thinking back to Puck, Rachel and Finn.

Frannie leaned forward and gave Quinn a huge hug. She couldn't remember the last time she had hugged her sister and actually enjoyed it.

"Fresh start?" Frannie asked, pulling away.

"Fresh start. Maybe I'll even tell you the story of how Puck ended up with an egg on his head," she remarked, giggling at the memory, "twice."

"I'd like that," Frannie replied, smiling at her sister's happiness. She could tell that Quinn liked Puck and vice versa, but she decided to save that conversation for a later date.

Quinn turned towards Judy who had been sitting in silence the whole time, watching their exchange.

"Oh Quinnie," she said, bursting out into tears, as she flung herself towards her youngest daughter, wrapping her arms around her tightly. "I'm so sorry for everything that I've done," she said tearfully, pulling away from the hug. "I've treated you horribly; I should've been there since the beginning but I wasn't, and I regret that so terribly much. I was scared of your father finding out, and I didn't know what to do. I never meant to choose sides, but I did. I never wanted to kick you out, but I was weak and fragile…I noticed your changes last year, but I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want you to get mad at me. I was just so happy that you were living with me again, and I didn't want to risk angering you and having you move out. I can't stand the idea of loosing you again."

No one spoke for a couple seconds, so Judy continued to speak; her apology wasn't quite over yet… "I don't know why I said those things at the funeral…I guess I felt like I owed him somehow. I wanted to make things seem better than they were, and I didn't want to admit that our family had problems and weaknesses. It was downright stupid, and I'm sorry for hurting you.

Quinn sat in silence, trying to process everything. It was easier for her to forgive Frannie because they had never really been overly close. She had left Lima behind months before Quinn had even started dating Finn, and she wasn't there firsthand for all the pregnancy drama. Quinn could see why Fran had made the choices she had, she understood the pressure that her sister had been placed under to be the "perfect" child. But with her mom, things were different. She always thought that they shared a close relationship, and it hurt Quinn that her mom didn't stand up for her when she needed it the most.

"Quinn, say something," Judy whispered.

"I want to forgive you, but I can't quite yet."

Judy nodded, "I understand."

"I love you though, so much, and I'm so grateful that you came back into my life. I want you to know that." Quinn knew that her relationship with her mom was never going to be the same as it was before, but that was okay with her. She had accepted the fact that maybe their relationship wasn't everything she once thought it was. She was willing to rebuild it and appreciated the apology her mother just gave her.

"There's one more thing," Judy said, reaching into her purse and pulling out a thick envelope. "This is your father's will, he left you some money to finish your education."

Quinn raised her eyebrows in shock; she never expected that to happen. She hadn't talked to her dad in over three years and yet he had left her money? Her eyes began to well up with tears, and her heart started beating loudly. Surprised didn't even begin to describe what she was feeling at that moment. The letter she had sent him popped back into her mind, and her brain worked backwards to try and remember when she sent it. It was early December of last year.

"When did he last update the will, mom?" Quinn choked out, she was willing herself not to cry, but she wasn't sure how much longer she was going to last.

"End of December, last year."

Quinn thought she was going to faint, or cry, or maybe both. He had read her letter, in which she had expressed her anger, regret and sadness. Even though it wasn't much and he still didn't come to apologize to her, it meant something. It meant that he understood, or at least acknowledged her feelings.

"He left you this as well," Judy said as she reached into her purse and pulled out a small red velvet box. She handed it to Quinn, whose hands were shaking uncontrollably.

As she opened it up, she felt herself take a deep breath. Inside, was a beautiful silver cross necklace laced in diamonds. Quinn gasped when she saw it. Her father had worn it around his neck every single day since Quinn could remember. Her mind flashed back to when she was seven or so years old, and she had asked her father to see it up close. It had been a Sunday afternoon following church, and like every week, Quinn had followed her father into his office, where he offered her a chocolate from his old mahogany box. She would always choose the caramel chocolate, which was wrapped in a beautiful bronze paper, and her dad would choose the pink wrapped chocolate with the cherry centre. After the two had finished eating their chocolates, Quinn politely asked her father to see the chain up close. She clearly remembered her father squatting to the ground, and holding out the chain for her seven year old self to hold. Quinn could remember how beautiful she thought it was seeing it up close for the first time. She could almost hear her father word for word, as he explained to her that the cross had been in his family for many years, and that one day, either she or Frannie would have it. As a child, she wished that she would be the one to end up with the beautiful chain – and here she was now, holding it in her hand. All of the sudden, Quinn started crying uncontrollably. Judy and Frannie looked at each with confused expressions on their faces, but Quinn didn't care. This chain meant so much to her, and she couldn't believe she was holding it in the palm of her hand.

"I'm sorry," Quinn said, "I just – just never expected this…it means so much."

At hearing Quinn's sobs, Puck rushed back into the living room, expecting something to be wrong. Instead, he found the three Fabray women in a big hug. He smiled as he walked back out, not wanting to intrude on their family moment. He was glad that Quinn's life was starting to get back on track; she deserved it.

Xxxx

Although she was leaving for New York later on that day, Quinn knew that she needed to pay someone a visit before she left. She parked Puck's truck in the empty parking lot and walked along the worn down grassy pathway, until she found the spot she was searching for. She bent down in front of the gravestone and ran her fingers over the place where the words "Russell Fabray" had been carved out.

"Thank you daddy," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "Thank you for helping me become a better person by showing me how I shouldn't act; thank you for making me a stronger person by forcing me to become independent. Thank you for giving me some of your stubbornness and determination, for giving me the ability to finish my education, for reading my letter and listening to what I had to say. Thank you for the beautiful necklace, it's more than just a family heirloom: its a reminder of the time we had together, the traditions and memories that I'll never forget, and the love we shared, but most of all….it's a symbol of moving on and forgiving," Quinn said.

She pressed her forehead against the cool concrete, and gently laid down two small chocolates: one was wrapped in pink, the other in bronze.

"I love you."

Xxxx

A few hours later, Quinn sat in Puck's truck outside of his house waiting for him to come and drive them to the airport. She smiled, recalling all the times she had sat in his drive way junior and senior year. Some nights, when she kept thinking about Beth, like on her baby's birthday, she would get in her car and drive to his house. Those were the days she missed him the most: she wanted him to hold her, kiss her, and tell her everything was going to be okay, he was the only one who truly understood her. However, that never happened. It could never have happened, because she was with Sam or Finn, and he was with Lauren, or Shelby. So many times she had sat there crying, convincing herself to go knock on the door, but she never did – she was too scared. She wasn't scared that he would turn her away, she knew that he would pull her into a hug and whisper comforting things in her ear, but she was scared that she wouldn't be able to tear herself away from him again once she wound up in his arms.

"Hey Q, ready to go back to New York?" Puck asked, coming out from the house and jumping into the driver's side of the truck.

Quinn jumped a little at his voice, she was so caught up in her memories that she didn't even notice him approaching.

"Yeah…I was just thinking about how…" she paused, not quite sure if she should admit this too him…"thinking about how I used to come over some days," she said, biting her lip in anticipation of his reaction.

"You lived here, of course you came here," he joked.

"Not just then… sometimes I would come here during junior and senior year and just sit in my car and cry."

Puck froze at her statement, and he turned to look at her again.

Quinn continued on, sensing his surprise and confusion, "some days, like on Beth's birthday, I wouldn't really know what to do with myself…I was upset and feeling lost, so I would get in my car and drive over here…I know it sounds strange, but being closer to you made me feel closer to her, it made me feel less sad."

Puck stared at Quinn in awe. He had always stayed away from Quinn on those types of days because he assumed that she wouldn't want him to be around. However, all this time she had been much closer than he thought.

"Why didn't you ever knock on the door?" Puck questioned.

"We were living separate lives…we didn't really talk anymore."

"That wouldn't have mattered."

"I was worried that if I saw you again, I wouldn't have ever left."

"I wouldn't have wanted you to…I never wanted you to leave to begin with," Puck admitted, referring to the summer after Beth had been born.

"I needed to though. Not just for me…but for you."

"I know," Puck said softly as he diverted his eyes away from hers.

"I didn't want to…but everything about 'us' reminded me of her. It hurt too much. We needed space apart, to figure everything out."

"I understand Q."

"I'm so sorry."

"You don't need to apologize for anything."

"I should have at least said goodbye or something."

"I'm glad you didn't."

"Why?"

"Goodbyes seem so final, no goodbye still left me with some hope."

xxxx

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	7. Chapter 7

"Ok, I'm finally done!" Santana said, as she finished curling the last piece of Quinn's shoulder length blonde hair. Quinn looked in the mirror, and smiled at her reflection.

"It's perfect, thanks San."

"Curly hair really suits you, way better than the pink ever did; god what were you thinking?"

"I wasn't."

The two friends smiled at each other, and Santana left Quinn alone in the bathroom while she went to go change. As Quinn applied her light pink lipstick, she thought about how happy she was to be here with Santana and Brittany; as much as Quinn hated to admit it, she really missed Santana and her bitchiness. Although they had their ups and downs over the years, Santana was her best friend, and one of the few people to put up with her ever-changing moods. It had been such a long time since they had seen each other, but it didn't seem like anything had changed. Santana still had her sass and Brittany was just as lovable. The three of them had decided to get a hotel room in Lima, while they were there for 's wedding. Quinn and her mom were getting along much better, but she didn't want to push her limits, so she asked Santana and Brittany if they wanted to share a room, and of course, they were quick to agree.

"Will you zip me up Q?" Brittany asked, as she came bouncing out from the bedroom. She was wearing a short light blue dress that looked amazing with her eye colour.

"Of course," Quinn said, pulling up the zipper, "you look gorgeous Britt."

"Of course she looks gorgeous, it's Brittany," Santana piped in.

"Thanks, I'm so happy to have a sleepover with you tonight Q! It will be just like old times," she said shyly, giving Quinn a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, just like old times," Quinn whispered happily. She couldn't wait.

"Well, how do I look?" Santana questioned, hitting a seductive pose.

"Hot! Red's always been your colour," Quinn replied.

"I know," she replied smirking.

"What are you wearing Q?" Brittany asked.

"I'm not sure, I brought two dresses," Quinn replied, opening up her suitcase and pulling out two options. One was a sunny yellow lace dress, and the other was a knee length, soft pink chiffon dress with a sweet heart neckline. "Which one do you think?"

"Definitely the pink," Santana answered.

"It's so pretty!" Brittany agreed.

"Really? You don't think it's too…. I dunno, fancy?"

"Not at all, it's a wedding. Plus, I bet there will be lots of cute guys at the wedding tonight Q. If you wear this dress, they will be flocking to you. This dress will look absolutely stunning on you, but will still be sexy in an understated way. "

Quinn shot Santana an apprehensive look.

"I bet Puck will love it."

"Santana! There is nothing going on between Puck and I, how many times do I have to tell you that!" Quinn exclaimed. Although Puck and her had been closer since she stayed over at his house, there were definitely no signs of romance (or at least, she tried to convince herself of that).

"That's not what Rachel tells me."

Quinn rolled her eyes, thinking about how she was going to beat up Rachel later.

"You are totally blushing!" Brittany said.

"I am not."

"I don't know why you two keep denying your feelings, its so sickingly obvious to everyone else," Santana replied, thinking back to the glee club reunion the night before.

"Will you just stop with the Puck talk….please? There is nothing going on."

"And there's the 'High Bitch' tone I love and missed," Santana jokingly shot back.

Quinn just grinned as a response, before slipping the soft pink dress on, and letting Santana zip her up.

Quinn turned around, looking to her friends for approval.

"That's definitely the dress," Santana replied.

Brittany nodded her head in agreement, "You look like a princess."

"Thanks guys," Quinn replied, grabbing her clutch of the bed. She opened the hotel room for her friends, and they walked out into the hallway.

"I still say that once Puckerman sees you in that, he'll be pulling you into the nearest coat closest."

Quinn shot Santana a look, but didn't say anything in response. Something was telling her that she wasn't going to win that argument tonight.

Xxxx

Santana was right. As soon as Puck saw Quinn step of the elevator, he wanted to drag her back upstairs to her hotel room. She looked beautiful, more than beautiful, she was drop dead gorgeous. He continued to stare at her as she approached the former glee club members; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. Puck thought he must be imagining things, but as soon as the Unholy Trinity walked off the elevator, he swore that everyone went silent and time slowed down. It was like they were back in freshman year again with Quinn strutting down the hallway, Brittany and Santana placed delicately on either side of her. He stood mesmerized by her beautiful delicate figure as it drifted towards them like a cloud. He held his breath as she approached them, giving everyone a smile and leaning in to hug a few of her old friends. When she approached him, he leaned in and gave her a hug.

"You look beautiful Q," he whispered in her ear.

"Thank you, you look…." She stepped back and jokingly examined him, "like Cary Grant."

"Thanks," he said, he had no idea who the hell Cary Grant was but decided it must be a good thing; he made a mental note to ask Santana later.

"I'll see you inside?" she asked, motioning with her head to where the ceremony was going to be held.

"Of course, I'll save you a seat."

She smiled appreciatively at him, and walked over towards Tina, the two girls instantly engaging in a conversation.

Puck watched as she walked away

"She's gorgeous, isn't she?" Santana said, coming to stand next to him.

"Breathtaking," Puck said, his eyes still focused on Quinn.

Santana nodded, "You like her."

"Of course I do."

"But it's more than that, isn't it? I can see it in your eyes."

"Yeah, it is."

"Tell her then."

"I can't."

"You just told me."

"That's different, your Santana, she's Quinn…Fabray. You and me can tell each other all kinds of shit."

"Way to point out the obvious…Look stop being such an coward and grow some balls already," she said, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Eloquent choice of words Miss Lopez."

"I try… but seriously, why don't you just tell her you like her."

"It's too complicated."

"That's not a reason."

He thought for a while, his mind going back to all the memories they had together, some good and some bad.

"I'm scared I guess."

"Of what?"

"Of loosing her again."

"But did you ever really loose her to begin with?" she asked honestly. She knew that she was pushing Puck a bit, but someone needed to do it. She looked in his eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"It certainly felt like it."

"Maybe that needed to happen then," Santana said, turning and giving him a friendly kiss on the cheek, before walking away to go and find Brittany. After a few steps, she slowly turned around and quietly said, "You guys found your way back to one another though...sometimes that's all that matters."

Xxxxx

"Hey."

Quinn spun around, looking to see whom the unfamiliar voice belonged to. In front of her stood a blonde haired boy with deep brown eyes and a California tan. She didn't recognize him from McKinley; she definitely would have remembered a guy like him.

"uhhh…Hi."

"My names James," he said, reaching out his hand. She shook it, surprised at how forward he was being.

"Quinn."

"Nice to meet you Quinn," he said, grinning. "How do you know the bride and groom?"

"The groom used to be my teacher."

James shot her an amused look, "You're at your teachers wedding?"

"Yeah," she chuckled, pointing to the group of glee club kids talking, "We all are. We have a pretty close relationship with him; he was our glee club leader in high school. I kind of think of him as a father figure though," Quinn said, wondering why she was telling all of this to a complete stranger.

"That's pretty cool…Will seems like a nice guy."

Quinn nodded, "He's definitely helped me through a lot….I'm assuming you know Emma then?"

"Actually, no…my dad is the caterer for the wedding tonight, and he was running low on kitchen staff, so I offered to fill in. I'm just visiting Lima for the weekend, I go to school in New York."

Quinn raised her eyebrows at this, "Really, I go to NYU."

"Small world," he replied, shooting Quinn a smile. She felt her knees go weak at his grin, and the twinkle in his eye. "What are you taking?"

"I'm in the theatre arts program."

"You must be pretty talented to get into a prestigious program like that."

Quinn felt herself blush slightly at the compliment. "Thanks, I guess I have a lot of emotion to work from. How about you, what are you majoring in?"

"Legal Studies."

She raised her eyebrows, "Impressive."

He shrugged, "Well I was pressured into it slightly…."

"I know the feeling," Quinn said, her voice drifting off slightly as she saw Puck, Finn and Rachel waiting for her near the entrance. Rachel kept raising her eyebrows at Quinn, Puck wasn't making eye contact, and Finn just seemed confused. "I really should head into the ceremony, before the wedding starts."

"Of course, it was nice meeting you Quinn…maybe I'll see you later."

"Yeah, nice meeting you too," she said quietly.

As she walked away, she found herself questioning what exactly just happened.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to everyone reading this story! Special thanks to ****andsoitis2**_**,**_**gleeothfriends90210cccjsdAMD**__**and the anonymous reviewer**__**for their comments on the previous two chapters… I have to say that the ones from last chapter made me chuckle :) **

**I don't own Glee or She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5 (I know its used a lot, but its perfect!)**

Puck stood near Finn and Rachel, when he noticed Quinn talking to some tanned, preppy, blonde haired boy. He felt a familiar rush of anger fill up inside him, despite the fact that Quinn wasn't his to begin with.

"Who the hell is Hollister boy?" he spat out, nodding towards Quinn.

Rachel turned to look at the guy he was referring to, and raised her eyebrows; she hadn't seen Quinn flirting with someone since senior year, and the image surprised her.

"I dunno, I've never seen him before, he must be a relative or close friend or something," Rachel answered, slightly worried about Puck's reaction.

"Well, I don't like it," he snapped, not really paying attention to the words leaving his mouth.

Rachel turned to look at him. She knew that Puck obviously had feelings for Quinn but she never heard him speak out so directly about it. She glanced over at Finn, who had a look of concern etched on his face.

"Puck…" Rachel said gently, "she's young and attractive, what do you expect?"

"Yeah man, she looks drop dead gorgeous in that dress, of course guys are going to approach her," Finn remarked, earning a sharp glare from Rachel in return. "Come on Rach, you know what I mean."

"I just like teasing you," she replied, leaning up and giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"I know you two are uber in love and everything, but can you stop for a second and help me? Please!" Puck shot back.

Rachel rolled her eyes, before turning back to face Puck. "Look, sometimes these things take time. Remember how many tribulations Finn and I had while we were dating? Now look at us! You've both been through a lot, together and apart. And there is no doubt in my mind that you and Quinn will end up together, but it might take time. Maybe this…" she said, motioning towards Quinn and the boy, " is what she needs in order to realize that."

Puck looked down at his feet in defeat. He didn't want to admit it, but part of what Rachel said was right.

"Yeah man," Finn gently said, slapping Puck on the back, "I know you like her and this pisses you off, but it's nothing really..."

"I know, its just…" Puck paused, letting out a deep sigh in the process. "…I just don't get why it has to be so complicated: whenever I want to be with her, she's taken by some "perfect" guy, and whenever she actually wants me, I'm too involved with a fricken teacher to acknowledge it. I'm so god damn stupid, I should have just told her while I had the chance."

Rachel couldn't believe how open and honest Puck was being. She stood stunned at his direct reveal of emotion.

"Puck, it's a simple conversation. For all we know, he could be gay."

They all turned to watch, as the mystery guy placed him hand gently on Quinn's arm.

"He doesn't look gay," Finn slowly remarked.

"Oh my god Finn! You are not helping matters any!" Rachel yelled, attracting the attention of several bystanders. "Sorry," she said, lowering her voice, "my voice carries."

"At least Finn is being honest with me!" Puck replied to Rachel, the annoyance and anger evident in his voice.

"You want honest, I'll give you honest," she replied, pointing her finger at Puck in true Rachel fashion. "You need to stop obsessing over this because Quinn is an independent women, and she is free to do whatever she likes. She is flirting with a guy, and that is nothing in comparison to your "player" ways."

Puck stood shocked, Rachel had never so much as yelled at him before, and the directness startled him slightly.

"I'm sorry," she said a bit more gently, "but Quinn is not yours to claim."

"I …I just wish she was."

"I know, she said quietly, "but if you guys are really meant to be together than it will happen, regardless of this stupid flirtation. You and Quinn are best friends, even after all the crap you've been through together, and I don't think this will change anything."

"How do you know that?" Puck asked.

"I've seen the way you guys look at each other. These feelings aren't one sided Puck, and I can assure you of that much."

Puck sighed, not quite in the mood to argue with Rachel any further. Maybe she and Finn were right; maybe he was making a big out of nothing. He tried to convince himself of that, but he couldn't ignore the horrible feeling he got in the pit of his stomach at the sight of Quinn and Mr. Golden Boy together.

As Quinn walked over to their group, he pushed the thoughts away, the last thing he needed to do was push Quinn for answers. He was hopeful that maybe someone would do the dirty work for him.

"Who was that?" Rachel asked, raising her eyebrows as Quinn approached. Puck silently said a quick prayer to the heavens in his head, grateful that Rachel had asked the question he so badly wanted to know the answer to.

"His name is James, he's a caterer for the wedding."

Puck let out a quite sigh of relief, happy that this guy wouldn't be hanging around Quinn the whole night.

"Ahhh I see," Rachel replied, "he's cute."

Suddenly, all of Puck's gratitude to Rachel disappeared out the window. He seriously wanted to murder her; she was not making the situation any better. He cleared his through loudly, trying to get Rachel's attention and stop her from continuing on. She rolled her eyes in response and shot him a glare, indicating him to shut up.

Quinn shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so…..Finn shouldn't you be with Mr. Shue?" she asked, hoping to change the subject quickly.

"Oh jeez, I totally got distracted…" he said, shooting a quick look towards Puck and then Rachel. "Thanks for reminded me Q, I gotta go do my best man duties. I'll see you guys after." He said, before giving a quick wave and heading off.

xxxx

The music started to play and everyone turned back to the front, as Mr. Shue assumed his position at the altar. Quinn smiled as Emma's bridesmaids walked down the aisle. She glanced over and saw Rachel tearing up a bit; Rachel LOVED weddings with a passion. "Here comes the bride," started playing and everyone turned to look at Emma. Quinn couldn't help but sneak a glance back to Mr. Shue as he watched his beautiful bride to be walk down the aisle. Quinn hoped that her future husband would look at her with half as much passion and love as Mr. Shue was looking at Emma. She was so happy for them; she had met Terri before and Quinn wasn't her biggest fan, but Emma was kind, helpful, and sweet. Her and Mr. Shue belonged together, and there was no doubt in Quinn's mind that they would have a happy future together.

As Emma and Mr. Shue began to exchange vows, Quinn felt Rachel slip her hand into hers. The two friends looked at each other and smiled, thinking about how they wanted their future weddings to be just as magical.

Emma and Will exchanged beautiful vows, and gently slipping rings on the other's finger.

"I now pronoun you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!" the minister exclaimed.

Quinn awed as her former teacher leaned down and placed his lips passionately on Emma's. The crowd clapped in response, and as the happy couple turned to face the adoring guests, Quinn noticed how incredibly happy they seemed. As she clapped, Quinn looked over and saw Rachel's eyes glimmering with tears at the beautiful exchange. Quinn let her eyes wander over to Finn, who was standing proudly at the altar, and she couldn't help but notice how he was staring at Rachel with the upmost amount of admiration and love. "Their next…" she thought, remembering how Finn proposed to Rachel senior year but she gently told him they should wait. Honestly, Quinn couldn't see Finn and Rachel being with anyone else; they were absolutely perfect for each other. She turned to face the aisle as Mr. Shue and Emma glided down the centre, looking completely and utterly in love. "I only wished someone loved me that much," she thought to herself.

xxxx

Quinn sat at the table, watching the copious amounts of couples on the dance floor. She found herself staring at Rachel and Finn, as they slow danced to the song, "Your Beautiful." Despite being in high heels, Finn still needed to bend down to Rachel's height, but it was adorable. They would keep breaking apart and giving each other these looks that just screamed how in love they were. Quinn let her eyes graze across the dance floor and land on Santana who was dancing with Brittany, of course, and Blaine who was swinging Kurt around in circles. Tina had Mike and Sam was with Mercedes, even Artie had a new girlfriend. It seemed like everyone had someone to dance with except for her.

Sure, James seemed like a sweet guy, and he was perfect with his All-American looks, gentlemen manners and impressive law future. Quinn knew that she should be head over heels for him. Hell, her old self would have been tracking him down in the kitchen right about now. He was everything she had ever imagined her future boyfriend or husband to be. However, she didn't get butterflies in her stomach, or feel a connection. Maybe, she was being unfair, after all, she had just met him or maybe she had finally given up on her ideals of perfection ….or maybe she was already in love but just didn't want to admit it to herself. Nevertheless, she envied the love her friends seemed to possess, how did they get so lucky? She was happy for them, don't get her wrong, and she loved seeing that everything was working out so well for them, but she couldn't understand why she was never fortunate in that area. All she ever wanted was to feel loved by someone, but unfortunately, that hadn't happened yet. Sitting alone by herself at the table didn't seem to help matters any. "The hell with it," Quinn muttered under her breathe, as she reached over and grabbed Santana's glass of champagne, which was surprisingly full, and brought it to her lips. Quinn took a big drink from the glass, the bubbly liquid instantly making her feel warmer and less depressed. She pulled the glass away from her mouth and looked at it for a while, before deciding that another sip was in order. Before she knew it the glass had been emptied, and she was reaching for the bottle placed in the centre of the table. Her arm was in mid-reach, when she heard footsteps approach.

"Would you like to dance Q?" Puck asked, holding out his hand and staring down at her with a slightly amused expression on his face.

Quinn glanced at the bottle of champagne waiting for her, and then at the full dance floor. She contemplated the decision for a while, but decided that a dance could do no wrong, so she extended her hand, letting Puck take it and glide her over to the dance floor, just as the band began to play a new song. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist, as she rested her hands on his shoulders. Together, they slowly began to dance in tune to the rhythm of the music.

_Beauty queen of only eighteen_

_She had some trouble with herself_

_He was always there to help her_

_She always belonged to someone else_

_I drove for miles and miles_

_And wound up at your door_

_I've had you so many times but somehow_

_I want more_

_I don't mind spending everyday_

_Out on your corner in the pouring rain_

_Look for the girl with the broken smile_

_Ask her if she wants to stay awhile_

_And she will be loved_

_She will be loved_

As they danced, Quinn found herself paying strong attention to the lyrics, and wishing that someone would wait in the pouring rain for her one of these days. She thought again to James, and the couple of date offers she had received over the past few months at University, but none of them really struck any chords. But, as looked up and found Puck staring deeply in her eyes, those things didn't seem to matter as much anymore. Quinn smiled, before resting her head comfortably on his shoulder, pulling their two bodies closer together.

_Tap on my window knock on my door_

_I want to make you feel beautiful_

_I know I tend to get so insecure_

_It doesn't matter anymore_

_It's not always rainbows and butterflies_

_It's compromise that moves us along, yeah_

_My heart is full and my door's always open_

_You can come anytime you want_

_I don't mind spending everyday_

_Out on your corner in the pouring rain_

_Look for the girl with the broken smile_

_Ask her if she wants to stay awhile_

_And she will be loved_

_And she will be loved_

_And she will be loved_

_And she will be loved_

Puck couldn't stop himself from thinking about how natural and complete he felt dancing with Quinn in his warms. He started thinking about how he needed to tell her that he still had feelings for her before it was too late and she ended up with someone else, someone like James. As he listened to the lyrics, he started to realize how perfectly they applied to his relationship with Quinn. He would do absolutely anything for her, anything. He wanted to help fix her, make her broken smile a full one again, and show her how much she is loved by everyone who knows her. He would stand outside in the pouring rain for her; he would wait for her as long as it takes for her to realize how much he loves her. As they rocked to the music slowly, he glanced up and found Santana staring at him, eyebrows raised. He titled his head to the side slightly and smiled at her, letting Santana know that he was going to do something about his feelings for Quinn soon.

_I know where you hide_

_Alone in your car_

_Know all of the things that make you who you are_

_I know that goodbye means nothing at all_

_Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls_

_Tap on my window knock on my door_

_I want to make you feel beautiful_

_I don't mind spending everyday_

_Out on your corner in the pouring rain_

_Look for the girl with the broken smile_

_Ask her if she wants to stay awhile_

_And she will be loved_

_And she will be loved_

_And she will be loved_

_And she will be loved_

_Please don't try so hard to say goodbye_

_Please don't try so hard to say goodbye_

_I don't mind spending everyday_

_Out on your corner in the pouring rain_

_Try so hard to say goodbye_

As the song ended, Quinn pulled away, tears making their way down her cheeks. He reached forward and wiped them away gently.

"What's wrong Q?"

"Nothing, its just…such a beautiful song."

He nodded, knowing the true reason behind why she was crying, before embracing her in a hug. Quinn hugged him back, wrapping her arms around his strong frame, pulling him close.

"I'm getting tears on your suit jacket," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"It doesn't matter, it's a rental," he joked, leaning down and tenderly placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Why does love have to be so hard?" she whispered, looking up at him with watery eyes.

"I don't know, I wish I did…" he replied softly, "but I like to think that when we find the one we truly love and belong with, that hard stuff won't seem so hard anymore, it'll just seem….right."

"I hope that's true."

"I'm pretty sure it is," he replied, drawing her closer. He knew it was true. The feeling he got when he was with Quinn was proof enough.

As the next song came on, they didn't break away from their embrace, but continued to sway to the slow music.

They stayed like that for the rest of the night.


	9. Chapter 9

**REUPLOAD!**

**For some reason Fanfiction isn't displaying chapter nine anymore (grrr), so I decided to re-upload the chapter…my apologizes to those who received this alert twice. **

***Thanks to everyone reading/reviewing/alerting this story, I appreciate it so much! Also, I realized that I messed up on the year Quinn got pregnant, we don't use the whole freshman/sophomore thing here in Canada, so I apologize for that mistake! :D**

Quinn woke up the next morning to find her legs tangled in the hotel sheets. The pounding in her head was a familiar yet unkind reminder of the late night she had just experienced. Groaning, she rolled over, and stretched her arms out, hitting a solid surface in the process. Quinn froze in spot; she didn't have THAT much to drink last night, only two or so glasses of champagne. Cautiously, she lifted her head and peaked out, apprehensive of whom she would find lying next to her. She bolted straight up when she saw Puck, immediately checking to make sure she was clothed. She breathed a sigh of relief at seeing herself in a tank-top and shorts. Slowly, the events of last night started to come back to her. They, being the former glee club, had gone to the hotel bar after the wedding and stayed up till nearly three in the morning swapping stories and sharing drinks. She recalled inviting Puck to stay with her and Santana because he wasn't in the right condition to drive, and his mom probably didn't want to see her son stumbling over the flower pots in the front yard at three in the morning. Giving her eyes a minute to adjust to the light, she let her eyes glance around the hotel room, landing on the sleeping figure next to her. God, their hotel room was a complete mess. Clothes were flung across chairs, torn bags of chips scattered the dressers, and one of Santana's bras hung from the curtain rod. She chuckled slightly at the sight, before remembering that she would have to be the one to clean it up. Rolling her eyes, Quinn dragged herself out of bed, careful not to wake the sleeping Santana and Brittany and headed into the bathroom to get ready.

When Quinn finished, she peeked out and saw her three friends still passed out on the beds. To be honest, she wasn't really surprised. She was glad that she had stayed away from the alcoholic beverages for the most part; a hangover was the last thing she needed. Plus, she had a strange feeling that even though nothing happened between her and Puck, something definitely could have. Urging the thoughts out of her mind, she grabbed her cell phone from her purse, and stepped outside into the hallway. She was back in Lima for a couple more days and there were a few things that she still needed to take care of. Sitting down at the chair near the elevator, Quinn pulled out her phone and scrolled down to the saved contact. She stared at the screen, unsure if she should continue on. Finally, after a good five minutes of contemplation, Quinn decided that this was something she needed to do. She was trying so hard to not ignore her past, and if she truly wanted to move on then Quinn had to face her fears. She willed her hovering fingers to finally hit the "call" button, and slowly, she brought the phone up to her ear. Part of her prayed that the person wouldn't pick up, but part of her knew that it was inevitable and she might was well get it over with.

"Hello," a voice, smooth and chipper, said on the other line.

"Shelby, hi its….Quinn," she said slowly, afraid that Shelby would slam the phone down.

"Quinn," she said, the surprise evident in her voice, "how are you?"

"I'm doing good…"

"What is new with you?"

"Well got married yesterday, and I'm actually back in town for the wedding. I was hoping that we could maybe get together. I know this is last minute and everything, and I totally understand if you are busy, I just thought I would call and see…see if we could get together," Quinn said, unable to stop herself from rambling. She was so nervous and apprehensive about making the call that she didn't even register half of what she said.

"I think that would be great actually, are you free today?"

"Yes!" Quinn shouted enthusiastically. "Yes, today would be perfect. How about Breadsticks around twelve?"

"Sounds good, will Noah be joining us?"

Quinn bit her lip and glanced back down the hallway to the hotel room. She felt bad leaving him out of this, but this was something she needed to do on her own. "I was hoping it would just be us two."

"I think that's a good idea," Shelby replied, chuckling a little. "Would you like me to find a babysitter?"

Quinn took a deep breath. In her mind, this scenario had always happened without Beth. Don't get her wrong, Quinn wanted to see her baby so bad and she wanted nothing more than to hold her and smell her sweet baby scent. However, Quinn knew that having Beth there would probably make things even more difficult than they would already be. Plus, she didn't know if she would be able to cope with seeing her daughter on such short notice without having the time to mentally prepare herself.

Luckily, Shelby took Quinn's silence as an answer, "You know what, since Rachel is back in town I'll ask her to come over and watch Beth. That way, it can just be you and me okay?"

"Thank you Shelby," she whispered, grateful that Shelby had been so understanding through all of this.

"No problem, I'll see you shortly then."

"Look forward to it," Quinn replied calmly, but as she hung up the phone she couldn't help but feel relieved, excited and nervous. Relieved that she had made the first step, excited that she was finally going to be able to set things right, and nervous that it was actually happening.

Xxxx

Fixing her hair for the millionth time that day, and tugging her shirt down, Quinn stared at her reflection in the mirror: her short blonde hair was set off by her red scarf, blank t-shirt and dark jeans. She looked very presentable, minus the slight dark circles under her eyes. She was a far cry from the pink haired, smoker, skank she was a year ago, and hopefully that would get her at least a few points from Shelby. She wrote a quick note to her new passed out roommates, telling them she would be back later. She glanced back at Puck one more time, considering waking him up and at least telling him where she was going. Part of her wanted him to come with her just to make things less awkward but she knew that was taking the easy way out so she forced herself to leave the room without him.

As she hailed a taxi to the restaurant, Quinn couldn't stop shaking. She was so nervous to see her daughter's adoptive birth mother, especially after the way things had ended between them last time. As the taxi driver pulled up to the favourite Lima hang out spot, Quinn checked her watched and sighed. She was 15 minutes early, which meant 15 more minutes of nervous anticipation.

Once seated at a table, Quinn let herself take a few deep breaths. She was a nervous wreck. In her mind she rehearsed what she would say, but she knew that once she saw Shelby all of it would be forgotten, and she would just have to say what came into her head. After what seemed like an eternity, Quinn caught sight of a brunette women walk in the door. "Okay, this is it," she muttered under her breath. As Shelby approached her, Quinn started to freak out about how she should greet her: a hug? A handshake? A smile and nod? However, she didn't have much time to think because, soon enough, Shelby was standing in front of her, arms held out in front of her for a hug.

"Quinn," Shelby said, standing back to look at the girl in front of her, "you look amazing."

Quinn chuckled, "Well anything would look good after pink hair, but thanks. You look great to."

"Thank you," Shelby replied, sliding into the booth.

"So how are you? How's B- …Beth?" Quinn asked, swallowing the lump in her throat that always seemed to arise whenever she said her daughter's name out loud.

"We're really good. We are both so happy and healthy. And how about you? Rachel tells me you're at NYU now? And your roommates?"

Quinn chuckled at the surprise evident in the older lady's voice. "Shocking I know, but it's very true. And to answer your question, I am at NYU and I love it. I love New York and being able to have a fresh start. I've been seeing Finn, Blaine and Kurt quite a bit, and Puck comes up every so often from Rhode Island. So it's been good for me…being independent and having people that I can rely on."

"I'm so proud of you Quinn."

"Thank you…"

"No I mean it, I am truly proud of who you've become. I know that you had a tough couple of years, but you turned your life around. I bet every kid in this town is jealous of you, you're living out their dreams."

"Well I had some help along the way that made me realize I still have my youth," she said, referring to Rachel, and Puck, especially Puck.

The waiter approached their table and gave them both a break from the somewhat awkward conversation. Quinn allowed herself to take a deep breath, the first real one of the day. Things weren't going so bad, but there were still a lot she had yet to say.

"Look Shelby, the second that I got Mr. Shue's wedding invite in the mail, I knew that I needed to talk to you. I have so much to say, so much to apologize for, but I wanted to start of by saying thank you for agreeing to see me again. I know that we didn't leave on the best note, so I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to come and talk to me."

Shelby nodded, "Of course."

"I don't even know what to say, " Quinn sighed, " except that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I was so horrible to you last year. You were so patient with me, and you gave me an opportunity that very few people would have even considered. I was a mess, plain and simple. I was broken, upset, and angry. I was so angry. I was angry at you, at Puck, at my mother, my sister, but most of all, I was angry with myself. I was angry at myself for giving Beth up, angry that I didn't even know who I was anymore. Dying my hair and smoking, I did those things so that I could forget about the girl I used to be. I didn't want her to exist anymore. Every time I looked in the mirror, I would see her staring back at me with disappointment. I thought that if I changed myself by becoming a skank, then it would somehow make it easier to separate myself from my past; that she would disappear and she would take everything else with her. It only made it worse though."

Shelby reached across the table and gripped Quinn's hand in hers, giving it a squeeze.

"Seeing you back in Lima, brought back so many memories. I didn't want to be a skank anymore, but I didn't want to be old Quinn either. I didn't know who I was anymore. I was afraid that it would hurt too much to remember who I used to be. I always say that being pregnant was the worst year of my life, but it wasn't. It was one of the more difficult years, I can't disagree with that, but it was also one of the best years. I felt happy, loved, complete, but most of all, I felt like myself. And then one day, all that was taken away from me."

"Quinn, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have been so hard on you. I should have helped find yourself again. I could relate to what you were going through, yet I still pressured you to change quickly. Instead of rushing it, I should have tried to be more understanding. It wasn't the right thing to do, and I'm sorry."

"No, you were looking out for me. You tried to open up my eyes and help me, but at that point, I had lost absolutely everything and I just didn't care anymore. Seeing that picture of Beth and Puck together made my heart ache for what could have been. I wanted her back so badly, and I was jealous that Puck got to see her first. When I lost Beth, I lost a large part of myself, and I thought that getting her back would somehow fix me, make me feel loved again. I was selfish, and I regret that now. I just wanted to let you know that I never thought you were a bad mother…you're an amazing one. I did all those stupid things without really thinking. I am so sorry for doing that to you. I should have been thinking about Beth the entire time but I was being selfish."

"Quinn, I know you think I don't care about you, but I do. You remind me so much of myself when I was younger. I was mad that you planted those things in my house, but I also understand why you did it."

"You do?"

"Of course I do, I did stupid things too," Shelby answered, shaking her head at the memories. "I messed up, we all do. But the important thing is realizing that we made mistakes and trying to fix them," she continued on, motioning with her hand to indicate the conversation between the two of them.

Quinn nodded, "There is one more thing I need to apologize for though…I'm sorry for making that comment about you leaving Rachel. It was totally uncalled for, I was just so angry and it slipped out."

"You were right about that. As much as it hurt to hear, I did bring Rachel into my life, and then got scared when I saw she wasn't my baby anymore and pushed her away. So I have to thank you for helping me realize how unfairly I was treating her. I'm sorry for telling you that you couldn't see Beth again, I was mad, but I also needed to be harsh so that you would finally open your eyes and stop ignoring the good things you do have."

"Can I ask you something?" Quinn said, leaning forward on the table, closing the gab between them.

"Anything."

"I might get emotional, maybe even angry."

"It's okay Quinn, I promise."

"You knew that I was hurting right?"

"Right."

"Then why did you sleep with Puck? Didn't you realize that would just make me even more broken?"

Shelby sighed, and hand a hand through her long brown hair. "I wish I could take that back. It was a mistake."

"He was the only person that knew what I was going through. No one else cared about me. To be completely honest, I don't even think he did," she said, recalling what he had said in the washroom the day after he had seen Beth. "But he was all I had. Everyone else was either too afraid of me, or I was too afraid of them."

"I took advantage of him," Shelby admitted. "He was just as confused and lost as you were, although he didn't show it quite so much. I was feeling lonely and overwhelmed with everything, and he was there. Maybe he had a crush on me, maybe he reminded me of my youth, but that was all it was. I swear. I will never forgive myself for sleeping with him. That's why I don't want you to blame yourself for your mistakes Quinn, because mine were equally as bad, if not worse. I was selfish, and I didn't think how this would affect Noah, Beth, you and even Rachel, I was only thinking about myself.

"It's okay," Quinn said softy, "I guess were equal," she partially joked, as the tears began to stream down her face; she couldn't hold it in any longer. Over the last year, she dreamt of the moment where she could apologize to Shelby, and Shelby could apologize to her as well. Sitting here now, and hearing the apology first hand felt so surreal. Quinn felt this huge relief at just hearing the words being tossed around in the air.

"What Noah and I had wasn't real Quinn, I don't want you to ever think that it was. It was a mistake," Shelby said, looking Quinn straight in the eyes.

Quinn nodded in response, but there was still one thing bothering her. She let it simmer for a few minutes before finally blurting out, "Then why did Puck put you before me!" The emotional conversation hit its breaking point, as Quinn began to sob and wipe at her eyes furiously. "I know that this doesn't have to do with you, but I just can't wrap my head around why he would tell you about the stupid things I planted in your apartment," she choked out.

"Quinn," Shelby said softly, "he didn't do those things to hurt you. He did them to protect Beth. To help you realize that you guys made the right decision. He knew that you weren't thinking straight, and that telling the truth would be the best thing in the long run."

Quinn sniffled. Up until this moment, she never really realized how upset she still was over everything.

"Quinn, you have always been important to him, regardless of what he's said or done."

Quinn felt bad laying all of this on Shelby as it didn't really involve her, but she desperately needed some advice and it was nice having someone to talk to that wasn't Rachel or Santana. She loved her friends dearly and appreciated their advice, but they didn't always truly understand the situation.

"You know how I know that?" Shelby asked when Quinn remained silent.

"How?"

"He talked about you all the time. Whenever he was over watching Beth or asking me a question afterschool, he would mention you. Every single time. He would tell me how he wanted to help you but didn't know how, or he would make some remark about how Beth looked exactly like you and how perfect she was. He still cares about you Quinn."

"I just wish things were less complicated."

"I know, but you have to remember that you and Puck share something special, and no matter what happens you will always have that connection with him. No matter who you're with, or where you are, you will always be tethered together."

"Thank you. Thank you for everything: for being so understanding these past few years, and for giving Beth the life she deserves. I hope you can forgive me for my stupid mistakes."

"I think I can forgive you for a few little wrongdoings, if you can forgive me for mine."

"Of course… I'm really lucky to have you Shelby."

"I'm lucky to have you too. I don't want you to think otherwise. Without you and Noah, then I wouldn't have a beautiful baby girl or my happiness. I owe you both the world."

"We're kinda like family huh?" Quinn said, shooting Shelby a shy smile.

"Yeah…we really are," Shelby replied, her eyes brimming with tears at Quinn's words. "I'm so proud of whom you've become Quinn, you seem like yourself again. I want you to come and see Beth sometime soon…if you want of course."

"I would love to."

**This chapter was very Quinn-centric, but I think it was necessary to tie up the loose ends between Shelby and Quinn… I promise that next chapter there will be a whole lot of Quinn and Puck, I'm excited to write it! Please review! **


	10. Chapter 10

**I love you ALL for reading, reviewing, alerting, and favouriting! Hope you like this chapter! **

Santana awoke the next morning with a pounding head and a passed out Brittany on her lap. What else was knew in the world? She let out a groan as her eyes adjusted to the bright lights, as she looked over to see if Quinn was awake. She let out an ear-piercing scream, when she saw a half-naked Puck flung out over Quinn's bed. He jolted awake at the sound, immediately springing up from under the covers to find a shocked Santana staring at him.

"What the hell was that for?" he yelled at her.

"What the fuck are you doing in this hotel room?" she spat out at him.

"God, what is your problem?"

"My problem," she said, enunciating the words, "is that I wake up, expecting to see my best friend asleep on the bed next to me, and instead, I find you. Half-naked I might add," she commented, directing with her eyes towards his boxer-only body. "Does that seem like a problem to you, because it does to me."

"Please Santana," he smirked, " we're close aren't we?"

"That doesn't change the fact, that I don't expect to find you asleep in my hotel room, when I can't remember how you ended up there. God, my head hurts," she said, rubbing at her temples.

"Relax, after we went out last night, you girls told me I could sleep here instead of catching a cab home. Nothing happened."

Santana scoffed, glancing over at the still asleep Brittany. How did she sleep through that scream?

"I bet you wish it did though, hey?" she asked. If he was going to be a jerk, she wasn't going to hold back either.

Puck rolled his eyes at her comment, " Drop it Santana," he grumbled, falling back on the bed. He knew where she was going with this, and he didn't feel like listening to it again.

"Why should I?"

"It's none of your business."

"Look, tonight we all go out: you, me, Brittany, Quinn, Finnocence, and Rachel. It'll be like old times sakes. I'll flirt my way into the club of our choice. We'll have a good time, and you can finally make a move on her."

"I'm not going to make a move on her in a club Santana. I think I deserve a bit more credit than that. And it's Quinn, not some random girl."

"Ugh fine, whatever, but we are still going out."

"How can you go out again? You can barely remember last night?"

"Have you forgotten who you're talking to Puckerman?"

At that moment, the hotel room door opened, and Quinn peaked her head inside, smiling when she noticed that two of her friends were now awake.

"Well, look who finally woke up," she said.

"Where were you?" Santana asked, wasting no time getting to know Quinn's whereabouts.

Quinn glanced quickly at her best friend, then at Puck. "Umm, there was just something I needed to take care of," she answered, reflecting her gaze downwards.

"Oh my god, you both need to cut the crap."

"Excuse me?" Quinn asked, the confusion evident in her voice.

Santana sighed as she looked at Quinn, before averting her eyes back to Puck. She sighed again, "never mind, it's too much for me to even comprehend right now, let alone explain."

"Okaaayy….umm Puck can I talk to you outside for a second?"

"Sure Q," he replied, following her outside, shooting Santana a long glare in the process.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, once they reached the hallway. He had a strange feeling that something major was going to happen.

"I called Shelby," Quinn blurted out.

"Wait…what?"

"I called Shelby. This morning, and I asked if I could meet her for lunch."

"Quinn, why didn't you wake me up? I would have gone with you."

"I know. And I appreciate that. But I needed to talk to her by myself. "

"How did it go?"

"Good. I felt like I just got everything off my chest, and said what I needed to, about me, Beth, Rachel…you."

"Me?"

"Yeah…you and Shelby."

"Oh that."

"Yes that," Quinn replied with a bit of anger in her voice; thinking of Puck and Shelby together still made her mad.

"You know I'm sorry about that…right? It was a mistake, and I regret it more than anything else in the world. If I could go back and do it over again, I would never have done any of it."

She sighed, before touching Puck gently on the arm. "I know, and I'm sorry I snapped. It just stings sometimes to think about you and her. I guess I felt like you didn't care about me anymore."

"I have always cared about you, and I always will. I didn't mean to hurt you Quinn."

She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "I know that too."

"I just wanted to feel something, anything to take away the sadness," Puck said softly.

"I wasn't the only one then?" Quinn asked, letting out a sad little laugh.

"No, you weren't the only one," he replied gently. "And I should have told you that back then but I just didn't want to admit it to myself. I could see that you were broken, but I didn't realize that I was too."

"I'm sorry for not noticing."

"You did though Quinn. You helped me too."

"How?"

"You forgave me for sleeping with Shelby."

"That's nothing compared to what you gave me. You gave me hope and determination. You made me feel like I was worth something; that I was special; that I could get out of this town and make something of myself."

"You are special Quinn. And your forgiveness meant the world to me. That hug at sectionals, that made me feel loved just like I wanted. I knew in that moment that I still had you, and that's all that mattered."

"Puck-"

"All of those painful things you went through happened because of me."

"No, you can't think that okay. Never let yourself think that. They happened because of us. And even though those things were hard and sad, all the amazing things happened because of you too."

Puck pulled Quinn in for a hug, inhaling her sweet, flowery scent.

Quinn let herself sink into warm embrace, "If it weren't for you, I would be stuck here in Lima working towards my real-estate license. I would be engaged to Finn, and living in some townhouse. I would have the life that was set out for me, but I would be miserable."

"Crazy to think that we made it this far, isn't it?" he asked.

"Our lives definitely didn't go as planned, but I like to think that they turned out a lot better than they would have."

"I like to think that too."

"I'm so tired of hating myself for the mistakes I made. I'm ready to come just move on."

"We'll do it together then?"

"Together."

"And to celebrate, were going out tonight. All of us."

Quinn's eyes widened in surprise, "Where?" she asked apprehensively.

"Wherever Santana's got connections."

"Oh god, please no."

xxxxxx

Despite her weariness at going to the club, Quinn found herself shoved in the back seat of the cab between Santana and Brittany. She should have at least gotten a window seat.

"Why are we doing this again?" she asked.

"Because it's our last night in Lima, and we are all together for once… it will be like the good old days," Santana replied.

Quinn sighed, and turned to face back to the front, looking at Puck sitting in the passengers seat. Fine, maybe the feelings she had for him were starting to resurface. She had forced herself to ignore them for the past few months, but after the wedding and talking to Shelby she realized that it was silly trying to hide her feelings. Part of her hoped that something would happen between them tonight, but part of her was scared that it might actually come true.

As the taxi approached the familiar club, Quinn shuffled out of the car, trying not to flash anyone in the process. For some reason she had given Santana permission to dress her, and of course, Santana had decided on something short and form fitting. It was only a black dress, and still relatively modest compared to Santana's outfit of choice, but Quinn still felt slightly conscious of herself. A few guys stared at the three girls as they approached Rachel and Finn near the entrance. Quinn yanked the dress down a little farther, knowing that it would only bounce back up once she released her grip on the slinky material.

"Relax Q, you look HOT," Santana whispered in her ear. "The guys will be all over you tonight."

"Will you stop telling me that! I'm not here to impress guys," Quinn said, quickly glancing at Puck.

"Mhmm, sure."

As they approached the entrance, Santana shot her trademark sultry look to the doorman, who immediately gave them entry into the club.

"Come on, lets get a drink," Rachel squealed, pulling the girls to the bar.

Puck felt his body tense as he noticed the guys checking Quinn out. He knew that she wasn't his to claim, but he hated seeing anyone other than him actually lay eyes on her. She was so perfect, and she deserved better than any of the creepy pervs here. Santana, Rachel and Finn were right; he needed to do something before it was too late; while he still had a chance. After their talk early, he just wanted to kiss her and tell her he loved her, but he couldn't. So tonight, it was going to happen. He was finally going to tell Quinn about his feelings for her. He watched her at the bar as she smiled, flinging her arm around Rachel. She tossed her head back as she laughed, the loose blonde curls falling softy at her side. She was so beautiful, it almost hurt.

"So, are you finally going to tell her?" Finn asked, coming to stand next to Puck.

"I think I have to."

"I'm happy for you."

"She hasn't said anything yet."

"Do you really think she will say no Puck?"

"It's Quinn, so I'm not sure."

Finn chuckled at the remark, "you can only deny things for so long."

The two friends stood in silence for a moment as they both let the weight of that sink in.

"Isn't that so true of our lives," Puck asked, turning to face his best friend. "Haven't we both convinced ourselves to believe things that weren't true: the baby, Rachel, Quinn. Sometimes I don't know what to make of my life anymore. How am I supposed to explain to people that I slept with my best friend's girlfriend, had a baby with her, loved her, hated her, slept with my biological daughters mom, and then realized that I still love the girl who I had a baby with. I'm screwed up."

"You're not screwed up Puck. We've all been through shit; we've made mistakes; we've done things we regret."

"I just want people to see me as more than my fuck-ups," Puck replied.

"Quinn does. So do I, and Rachel. Even Santana."

"But that's you guys, of course you understand. You were there through it all."

"Aren't those the only people that really matter though…the people who stuck by you when you were your weakest."

Puck let his eyes focus on Quinn once again. "Yeah, I guess they truly are."

"Ok then, lets go grab a beer and watch some of the hockey game to calm you before you go make your move," Finn said, dragging Puck by the arm.

xxxx

After getting her drink from the bar, Quinn quickly spun around, but she smacked into someone in the process.

"Oh, I'm so…." Quinn began to say, but froze when she saw that the guy she had smacked into was the guy from the wedding"…sorry."

"Quinn?"

"Yeah, James…the guy from the wedding right?" she asked.

"The one and only," he replied, winking at her.

"I wasn't watching where I was going, I'm sorry for bumping into you."

"I'm not."

She shot him a look, one mixed with warning and a hint of amusement.

He laughed at her expression. Quinn smiled, but found herself looking around for Puck.

"How long are you in Lima for?" he asked.

"I leave tomorrow, back to New York. How about you?"

"I go back in a couple of days."

"Nice," Quinn replied, noticing Puck and Finn at the far end of the club watching the hockey game. She had an urge to go over and join them, but that would be rude. Where the hell did Santana and Rachel disappear to?

"Look, this will probably sound really forward, but do you maybe want to catch dinner later tonight?"

Quinn turned back to face James. "I don't think so," she replied slowly, not wanting to seem harsh. "I kind of came here with my friends, it's our last night together,

and I don't want to abandon them." Quinn winced slightly as the words left her mouth. What she said was true, but the real reason she wanted to stay was because of Puck. She had a feeling that something was going to happen between the two of them. She didn't really have any desire to go out with James; she was finally letting herself admit her true feelings for Puck.

"Fair enough. Maybe another time."

Quinn purposely chose not to reply to the latter part. "It was nice running into you again, but I better go track some of them down," Quinn said, stepping around the conversation before he could say anything more.

She made her way over to Finn and Puck, plopping down on the chair next to them.

"Hey Quinn," Finn said, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Q, can I talk to you for a few minutes? Maybe outside?" Puck asked.

"About what?"

"Us."

"Ughh okay, I'll just run to the washroom and meet you out there?" Quinn felt her heart flutter with excitement, but she tried to calm herself down; she didn't want to be let down.

"Ok, five minutes," he replied, shaking his finger teasingly at her.

She grinned and took of in search for Rachel. Quinn didn't really have to go to the washroom, but she did need someone to talk to. Brittany probably wouldn't understand and Santana was already half-drunk from this morning, but Rachel was smart and sober. Plus, she always gave the best advice. She needed someone to tell all of this information too. After finally spotting Rachel at the bar, Quinn wasted no time in approaching her and dragging her to the bathroom.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked, her dark brown eyes wide.

"Puck said he needs to talk with me…and that it's about 'us'."

"Ooohhhh! It's finally happening!" Rachel said, her voice going all sing-songy on the last note.

"What? What is happening?"

"Oh come on Quinn! You totally know he's going to admit his feelings."

"What makes you think that?"

"Oh please, we all know he's like still in love with you Quinn. Plus, he said he wanted to talk to you about you guys. As in you and him being together. A couple of months ago you told me you had feelings for him… that's still true isn't it?"

"It is… It's just, I'm scared that I'll get heartbroken again, especially after the whole Shelby thing. Puck and I talked it over today, so maybe its just fresh in my mind, but I don't want anymore pain or sadness. Whenever we really have a chance to be something more, I get hurt. Like when he texted Santana after we babysat together, or when he dated Mercedes when I lived with him."

"Quinn, don't even think about that. It's all in the past. You both are so much more mature now, and you both know your direction in life. Plus, he likes YOU. He's never stopped."

Quinn took a deep breath, "Really?"

"Really."

"Okay then."

"Okay?" Rachel asked excitedly, jumping up and down slightly on the spot. "As in you'll say yes!"

"Yes. But what if that's not what he wants to talk to me about?"

"Oh my god! Just stop fretting. Don't be ridiculous, of course that's it. And he might have told me. Now get out there," Rachel said, while giving Quinn a little push to the entrance. Quinn looked back and shot her friend once last smile, Rachel grinned in response, mouthing the word "GO" to her.

Quinn had butterflies in her stomach as she walked outside. Was this really her and Puck's reunion? The thought was too much to comprehend, but she couldn't ignore the feeling of content she got when thinking about it. She walked outside and looked around for Puck, surprised that he wasn't already there. The sky was a deep navy blue, and tonight, you could see the stars glowing bright. She took a deep breath, this was it. It was finally happening.

She turned the corner. And that's when she saw him. He was standing near the back wall of the club. A tanned woman with long brown hair had her hands wrapped around his body. Her lips were on his. Her hands gripped his hair.

Quinn felt the anger rush through her veins. Then she felt tears brewing in her eyes as she turned away. She wanted to go up there and slap the girl who had her tongue shoved down his throat. Then she wanted to slap him for leading her on. Was she really wrong about everything? Did she just imagine everything? His feelings for her? The sexual tension? The desire to kiss each other senseless? No, she hadn't. And that was the truth. She wished she could just blame this on interpreting everything wrong, it would be so much easier to deal with. But she couldn't. She could feel whatever existed between them, and she knew something was going to happen tonight. So did Rachel, Santana, probably even Finn. Puck always did this to her: made it seem like he wanted to be with her and then, when she finally decided to take a risk and go for it, he would go ahead and toss her to the curb. Well she was done with it. She was done with him. She was done with waiting.

She stormed back inside, willing the tears in her eyes to go away. She ran her finger through her short hair, and she spotted the familiar blonde figure standing over in the corner. Putting on her confident face and the Fabray "everything is fine" façade, she walked over to him, her HBIC walk shining through in her steps. He turned to look at Quinn as she approached, grinning slightly.

"Is it too late to take you up on that dinner offer?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey all! I wanted to upload this chapter earlier, but unfortunately I got caught up with midterms and then my computer wouldn't turn on:( grrrr. But luckily, that's all fixed and over with and here it is! Thank you all for your continued support. **

**Special thanks to xxBabyT-ranxx, CAS, BMontague, joro3, andsoitis2, and Ciara, for the lovely reviews, and to the kind anon on tumblr :) Appreciate all of your support so much!**

"Is it too late to take you up on that dinner offer?"

"Of course, not" he replied, " Are you ready to go now, or do you want to wait a  
>little-"<p>

"No," Quinn said interrupting him abruptly. "Now is perfect, I'll just go tell my friends."

"Alright," he replied grinning. "I'll see you in five minutes."

"Perfect," Quinn said, faking a smile. She rushed off to the washroom, slamming the door behind her, and finally let herself cry in private. Through tear-clouded eyes she texted Rachel to meet her ASAP. Two minutes the door flung open.

"Quinn!" Rachel gasped at seeing her friend in tears. "What happened?" she asked, rushing to Quinn's side. She pushed back Quinn's blonde hair from her wet tear stained cheek.

"I….I walked outside to meet him. And- and," she couldn't get the words out. It hurt too much to think about it, let alone say it out loud.

"And what?"

"And there Puck was! Swapping spit with some slut!" Quinn spat out.

"WHAT! HE DIDNT!"

"Oh he did."

"What a douchebag!" Rachel yelled, as she began pacing the small bathroom floor. In any other case, Quinn probably would have laughed at her friend's choice of words, but she was too upset to even crack a smile.

"Quinn…I'm so sorry. He was going to tell you, I swear. He texted me like 15 minutes ago. And I was just talking to Finn who told me the same thing. He said Puck told him he was just going to suck it up and tell you."

"Yeah, well it looks like he found something else to suck on."

"Maybe it's just a misunderstanding, maybe –"

"No, I can't do this anymore Rachel. These stupid games are just getting old and tiring. Every time hurts more than the last. Maybe this is the universe's way of telling me that we don't belong together as more than friends," Quinn said wiping away the tears. "Which is why I'm not going to sit around anymore and just wait for the right moment. You remember that guy from the wedding I told you about? James?"

"Yeah…" Rachel replied, not liking where this was headed.

"Well he asked me out before, and I said no. But maybe it's the perfect opportunity to forget about all of this. Maybe it's the first step to letting go of the idea that Puck and I can be something more."

"You can be something more Quinn, you guys are meant to be together."

"I used to think so too Rach, but I don't have much hope anymore."

Rachel stood frozen as she heard the words leave Quinn's lips. She was going to beat the shit out of Puck for upsetting and hurting her best friend, but also for ruining any chances he may have had at reuniting with Quinn.

Quinn bit her lip, almost to prepare herself for what she was about to say next. "So I asked James if the offer still stood, and now we are going out…tonight."

"Quinn –"

"Please Rachel, just let me do this. Let me move on."

"Okay," Rachel said, because what else could she say? She leaned in and gave Quinn a tight hug, letting her know she supported her decision. "Then you're going to need these," she claimed, pulling a few tissues out of her purse.

Quinn gave a light laugh, "Thanks," she said, grabbing the Kleenex as she began to blot away the tears with them. She fluffed up her hair and slicked on some pink lip-gloss, giving her best attempt at a big smile. "How do I look?" she asked.

"Beautiful," Rachel answered. And she did. But she didn't look happy.

xxxxxxx

Puck was simply waiting outside for Quinn, when he felt a pair of hands push him against the back wall. Before he knew what was happening, some chick had her tongue shoved down his throat and her hands on his back. He shoved her away forcefully.

"What the hell do you think your doing?" he screamed at her, immediately looking around the area to make sure that Quinn didn't see anything. Luckily, she wasn't in sight.

"Oh come on baaaabyy," the women slurred, the smell of whiskey evident on her breath. "I saw you lookin at me inside, I know you want meeee."

"What the fuck? I don't even know who the hell you are."

The women leaned forward again, attempting to kiss him again, but he turned away abruptly. She pouted.

"Don't you want me?"

"No, I don't want you, I want the girl that I think I've been in love with for the past five years. So can you screw off before she comes out here and notices?"

He was pissed, seriously pissed if this chick screwed up anything.

"What the hell is your problem?" she enunciated. "Everyone wants me, everyone," she said, motioning with her hands towards her very umm well-endowed chest.

"Well not me."

She let out a huff, and spun around quickly trying to give a rather dramatic exit, instead she stumbled backwards, nearly falling over in her high heels. Surprisingly, she regained her balance rather quickly, and stormed off, probably looking for some other guy who would willingly sleep with her.

Puck shook his head, and tried to regain his composure. He couldn't let anything throw him off. He walked around for a bit, looking for Quinn but when he didn't see her, he headed back inside. He spotted Santana and Rachel talking to Finn about what appeared to be a very serious topic. He walked towards them, surprised when Quinn wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Hey guys, have you seen Q –" he started to say, but was interrupted when Rachel reached forward and slapped him. Her usually small and dainty hand hit him with so much force and power, that he stumbled backward. The sting from her hand and ring resonated on his face.

"Jesus Berry, what was that for?"

"For making out with some slut, right before you were going to go tell Quinn you still had feelings for her!"

"What? She saw that?"

"Of course she saw it, you idiot! She has eyes! Not to mention that you told her to meet you outside in like 10 minutes. What did you expect? That you could actually get away with it? God, how stupid do you have to be Puckerman?" Santana piped in.

"I don't even know what happened, this girl was drunk and before I could even say anything she had her tongue shoved down my throat. I didn't want it to happen, I pushed her away, and - "

"Give it up Puck, don't make excuses. I don't care how innocent you were in this god damn situation, you fucked up, and you hurt her."

"But I –"

"Don't you realize how much hurt you've caused her in the past? This was just the cherry on top," Rachel said, joining in.

"I never meant to hurt her, I –"

"Oh yeah, you're totally right," Santana replied sarcastically. "You never meant to hurt her, you just wanted her to feel good and happy about herself. That explains so many of your actions. Now, let's see…what one helped her the most? Maybe it was when you fucked Shelby and then ratted Quinn out on her mistakes. Oh no, I bet it was when you told her you didn't care about her anymore? Oh wait…I know, it was when you said that you would rather raw dog a beehive; yeah that was definitely it."

"That is not fair Santana."

Rachel stepped forward, so close to slapping him again. "No, of course it's not fair. It's not fair that just when Quinn was actually about to take a risk and love someone again, that you go and do that to her."

"Man, what were you thinking?" Finn asked. "You should know better than any of us how much heartbreak Quinn has been through. Sure, she's made mistakes in the past, but she grew up and matured. She only did those things so she could feel loved. All she's ever wanted is to have some want her, to have someone love her."

Puck was speechless. Everything was going right and then in a flash of sudden moments, nothing was right anymore. Not only was Quinn mad at him, but so was Rachel, Santana and even Finn. Hell, Brittany probably didn't understand what was going on, but chances are that she is mad at him too.

"Fuck." he muttered under his breath. "Where is she? Where is Quinn?"

Rachel stared at him. "She went out."

"Where?"

She shrugged, "For dinner, with James."

"James?"

"The guy from the wedding idiot!" Santana said, clearly frustrated.

"Shit…Finn give me your car keys."

Finn didn't say anything in response; he simply stood there with his hands in his pocket.

"Finn, come on…we took a cab here. I need to borrow your car. Please."

"I'm sorry man…but I cant."

"What do you mean, 'you can't'?"

"You gotta let her go."

And something told Puck that Finn didn't just mean tonight.

xxxxx

Quinn shoved her salad around with her fork. She wasn't sure why she decided to storm back inside and re-propose the idea of a date to James. She had been so caught up in the moment and wanted to hurt Puck like he hurt her, and wasn't thinking straight when she asked.

"Quinn?" James asked.

"Uhh….what? Sorry."

He chuckled, "Oh I just asked if you missed Lima?"

Quinn looked around the restaurant at his question. Of course he had chosen to take her to Breadsticks. Of all the places in Lima, they had to go to the one place that held so many memories for her. It almost made her laugh and cringe at the same time.

"Uhm..Sometimes," she answered. "To be honest, I couldn't wait to get out of here, but after a while I started to miss certain aspects. Like these," she said, holding up a pair of breadsticks. "And they aren't even that good."

She was trying to be funny and cute, but it was hard. Her mind kept circulating back to Puck and that chick.

He chuckled again. She watched the way his pink lips moved, showing off his perfect white teeth. He was handsome; she couldn't deny that.

"So why did you want to get out of here so bad?"

She paused, and let herself think about her answer. "There are just a lot of memories here for me. Sometimes it hurt too much to be surrounded by them all of the time.

"I get it…one day I'll tell you all about my problems."

"Trust me, I'm sure they're not worse than mine." The words slipped out before she knew what she was saying. She felt a few tears brewing in her eyes again as the memories started to pop up again. She quickly blinked them away before he could see, and took a deep breath.

"Are you okay Quinn? Did I say something?"

"No, not at all. I just…I just get a little emotional sometimes, sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. Let's just switch the subject."

She gave her best attempt at a smile. "Sounds like a plan."

"So any siblings?"

"One sister, Frannie. You?"

"Oh I have two young brothers, and an older sister. She's my dad's favourite of course."

She laughed, "Same with Frannie."

He shook his head, "Oh family, they can be so crazy."

"You can say that again."

"So how do you like NYU so far?"

"I love it…."

And so the conversation continued on into the night. Aside from having to dodge a few questions, the remainder of the date was rather successful. James drove her back to the hotel, and being a gentleman, walked her inside.

They stared at each other awkwardly for a few minutes, unsure of how exactly to conclude their date. After a few moments of silence, James leaned in for a quick kiss, but Quinn turned her head. She wanted to take things slow, real slow. James was a nice guy, who was handsome, smart, polite and a perfect gentlemen, but she didn't want to rush into anything.

"Thanks for a nice evening," she said, pushing the elevator button.

"Thank you Quinn…you're really lovely."

She felt herself blush.

"I'll call you when we get back to New York. Maybe we can do this again sometime?" he asked.

"I'd like that."

It started out a little rocky, but as Quinn rode the elevator to their room, she seriously started to think that maybe she could fall for him.

xxxxxx

Puck sighed as he sat down in the chair. They had only been in Ohio for a couple of days but so much had happened. He had been so close to reuniting with Quinn but then blew all of those chances out of the window. Now, they were in the airport about to go home: him to Rhode Island, Rachel, Finn and Quinn back to New York. He hadn't seen Quinn since last night.

Rachel and Finn took a seat opposite him. They were still clearly pissed at him. He hoped that they would forget about some of it overnight, but obviously not. The drive home the night before had been so awkward. Santana refused to talk to him the whole way back, and Brittany was pretty drunk and didn't make any sense when she talked.

Suddenly, he saw Quinn walking towards them. She avoided looking at him, and instead focused directly on Rachel and Finn. When she approached them, they both stood up to greet her. He swore he saw Rachel shoot him an angry glance as she leaned in to hug Quinn.

"Hey Q," he said, hoping that would at least talk to him.

"Hi," she replied directly, leaving any hint of emotion out of her voice.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

She shot Rachel a quick look, before letting her eyes settle on him again.

"Our flight leaves in five minutes."

"Please? I'll make it quick."

"Fine."

"In private?"

"What needs to be said can be said in front of Finn and Rachel."

"Q, please."

She sighed. "Fine." She looked over at Rachel, "You guys go ahead, I'll see you on the plane."

Quinn started walking away without him, leaving him to pick up his pace and catch up to her. They ended up in an empty seating area only a few feet away.

"Quinn, I am so sorry. Last night I was going to tell you that I still had – do have - feelings for you."

She scoffed, "Yeah and that's why you decided to make out with another girl."

"Quinn, please listen to me."

She sighed. She did feel like she was being a bit of a bitch to him, but he deserved it. She wasn't going to let him walk all over her again. "Sorry, go on."

"That girl just pounced on me. She came out of nowhere and before I knew what was happening she was kissing me. I didn't want her. I shoved her off right away, but obviously you still saw. Please Quinn, you have to understand, you have to believe me."

"I do believe you," she said seeing the look in his eyes. She knew Puck well enough to know that he was telling the truth.

"Really?" he asked, but something was telling him that was too easy.

She nodded, "But I can't forgive you…not yet," she said sadly.

And there was the bomb he was waiting for; he felt his heart drop as the words left her mouth.

"Please Quinn, you have to forgive me. I care about you more than I have ever cared about anyone before. You are my best friend, we can tell each other things that I we can't tell other people."

"_This is the final boarding call for Flight 196, with service to JFK International. _

Neither of them paid attention to the announcement that came over the airport intercom. They continued to stare at each other, tears welling in their eyes.

"I know that we've had our ups and downs, but at the end of the day we always find our way back to one another. Over the years, I've tried to convince myself that those feelings don't exist anymore, but I can't shove them away any longer. Because every time I look at you, I can't help but feel happy. I can't help but feel like we belong together." He was starting to get a little choked up from thinking about all of their memories together. "Please Q, give me a chance?"

She stared at him, tears rolling down her cheeks at his confession. A few hours ago she would have been delighted, thrilled. She would have ran up and kissed him and never let go. But now everything was complicated. Her heart was telling her to go for it and take a leap of faith, but her mind was telling her to hold back because he might hurt her again.

"_Once again, this is the final boarding call for Flight 196 to JFK."_

"I'm sorry," she choked out through the tears. "I can't."

She reached up and kissed him tenderly on the cheek, before running back to the gate. He watched in silence as she handed her boarding pass over to the attendant. Quinn turned around before entering the walk way and they locked eyes from across the way. For a second Puck thought she was going to come running back to him. But she didn't. He watched hopelessly as she shot him one more look before turning away, leaving him standing behind in the airport terminal.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks everyone! I love you all so much for the support! :) I have been in a major writing mood lately, so I hope you don't get tired of me. I hope you like this chapter! It's a little happier and there is something big for the Finchel shippers out there… ;) Again, thank you so so so much! I wish I could give you all hugs :)**

One week later…

Quinn stared at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't help but notice how long her hair had gotten. It was nearly passed her shoulders now. She brushed it slowly, making sure that every piece was perfectly in place. She grabbed her eyeliner from the makeup sitting on the counter, and rummaged through it for the black eyeliner. Leaning forward she slowly traced the waterline of her eye, making sure not to smudge it. She applied a light raspberry lipstick and pursed her lips together. She smiled at her reflection. Tonight was very special, and she wanted to ensure that she looked her absolute best.

Heading out of the bathroom and into the living room, she felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter, which was strange considering that tonight had nothing to do with her. However, it would be the first time she would see Puck since the airport. Ever since that day, she tried to avoid thinking about it. But even thinking about Puck made Quinn want to cry, so she started avoiding using his name all together.

"Hey Rach, are you ready to –," her thoughts were stopped short when she saw her best friend standing in the middle of the room, looking stunning in a knee length black dress. Finn was going to die. "You look beautiful Rachel. Absolutely stunning."

"Thanks Quinn," Rachel said, giggling slightly. "You look lovely as well."

"Thank you," she replied, taking a moment to glance down at her rather simple yellow dress. Tonight was about Rachel, and she didn't want to do anything to steal her thunder.

"Are you nervous about seeing Puck again?"

Quinn flinched at hearing his name, but she shook her head and smiled. She would pretend that everything was okay for tonight, for Rachel's sake. "A little, but it'll be fine."

"You shouldn't have worn that dress," Rachel said, indicating towards Quinn's outfit, " You know how much he loves yellow on you."

Quinn gave Rachel a quizzical look, "I didn't know that actually."

"Oh….whoops," Rachel said, giving her shy little smile. "Is James coming over tonight?" she asked, changing the subject.

"No… but I think we might go out tomorrow."

"Really? Where?"

Quinn sighed, tired of the questions. She didn't want to think about James. "Come on Rach," she said, dragging her best friend by the arm, "we are going to be late."

"No were not, the restaurant is like five blocks away. We're already taking a cab because of your stupid high heels."

Quinn raised her eyebrows and fought the urge to laugh. That was just a petty excuse she had given so they could take a cab to an entirely different destination, but Rachel didn't know that yet.

"You know you hate being late Rachel."

Rachel's lack of response gave Quinn the answer the wanted. And with that, she let her blonde haired friend drag her out the door into the bustling night streets of New York City.

xxxxx

"Quinn, where are we going? This is not the direction to the restaurant," Rachel said from the backseat of the cab. She fidgeted with her gold star necklace, as she peered out the window trying to decipher where they were going.

Quinn shrugged, " I don't know," she replied nonchalantly, looking out her window to prevent Rachel from seeing the expression in her eyes… "I'm just along for the ride."

"I hate surprises."

"No you don't, you love them."

Rachel sighed, "Okay, I do love them," she said, as they finally pulled up to the restaurant they were dining at. Rachel frowned when she saw the familiar scroll on the window awning. Turning to face Quinn, she had a look of confusion plastered on her face.

"Quinn what are we doing here? This is Sardi's, this is where Finn and I went on our date junior year…when we were here for nationals. This is where I met Patti LuPone, and…" Rachel rambled off.

Quinn smirked slightly. "I know."

Rachel shook her head in bewilderment. "Was this Finn's idea?"

"Of course."

"Oh my god!" Rachel squealed, bouncing out of the car, as she pulled Quinn along with her. "This is so exciting!" she said, her voice going high pitched on the last note.

Rachel interlocked her arm through Quinn's as the doorman opened the door for them. She happily skipped inside the restaurant, looking for her boyfriend. Quinn couldn't help but smile when she saw how happy and in love her friend was.

Looking around, she felt her heart stop as she spotted Puck. He was sitting with Finn in the back corner at a special table they had requested. For a second, the two of them locked eyes. She felt the butterflies in her stomach grow stronger. She wanted to run over and throw herself into his arms. She missed him. They hadn't talked at all, and even though it had only been a week, it felt like more, so much more. She waved, and Puck waved back. They both smiled slightly as they continued to stare at each other from across the way.

"Look! There's Finn and Puck!" Rachel said loudly, her excitement shining through in her voice. Quinn smiled, and willingly let Rachel drag her to their table.

"Hi," Quinn said shyly, as they approached them.

"Hey," Puck replied. He tried his best to keeps his eyes trained on her face, but he couldn't help but let them wander over her figure that was veiled in the pale yellow dress. God, he loved yellow on Quinn.

Quinn sat down beside Puck apprehensively and avoided making eye contact with him. From across the room it had been so easy, but now that they were in such close proximity to one another, Quinn felt shy, almost like she was five years old again. Eventually, she worked up enough courage to look him in the eyes. She smiled slightly, almost as if she was apologizing for everything that had happened between them. Puck smiled back. He reached under the table and interlocked his fingers with hers. He gave her hand a quick squeeze, letting her know that everything was okay: that they were okay.

She felt her breathing ease up as her nerves at seeing him again subsided.

"Finn," Rachel said, giving her boyfriend a slight slap on the arm, her voice drawing Quinn out of her thoughts, "you didn't tell me we were going to Sardi's!"

"Of course I didn't silly, then it wouldn't be a surprise anymore."

"Well I love it, and I love you," she said, tapping Finn lightly on the nose.

"I love you too."

"Oh my god, I love you guys but sometimes the whole lovey-dovey thing gets to be a bit much," Puck piped in, rolling his eyes at their public display of affection.

Rachel ignored his comment, "I must say that you guys had me fooled, I was convinced we were just taking the cab so Quinn wouldn't have to walk five blocks in her high heels."

Puck laughed, knowing that the scenario wasn't too far fetched. Underneath the table, Quinn kicked him in the shin as payback. He looked over at her, catching her eye in the process. Jokingly, he mocked being in pain, but he did have to admit that it hurt a little. For a graceful women Quinn sure had a lot of strength in her. She laughed, the smile spreading across her face as her eyes lit up. It felt good to know they were back to their friendly banter.

"Thank you," Finn mouthed to Quinn from across the table. Quinn winked, letting him know that everything was good to go.

It had been a while since they had sat down for dinner, just the four of them, but it felt nice, sort of like a mini reunion. However, Quinn couldn't ignore the feeling that it felt like a double date, but whenever the thought floated into her mind she pushed it away. There was no need to complicate things anymore than they already were.

Luckily, the waiter returned at that exact moment with their drinks, preventing Quinn's thoughts from drifting any further.

"I just want to say," Finn said, raising his glass, "that four years ago, I would've never envisioned this to be my life. I can't believe that I am sitting here in New York with you three. I know that we have had our ups and downs over the years," he continued on, locking eyes with each of them, "but I wouldn't change it for the world. Because each of those things brought me closer to you, and I truly don't know what I would do without each of you in my life. I love you all so much, and I know that fifty years from now, we will be sitting at this same table laughing over Glee club memories, and who sang it better." They all chuckled, raising their classes in response. "To us," Finn said, "to our friendship, and our love," he finished, locking eyes with Rachel, who smiled.

"TO US!" they all replied, leaning forward and clinking their glasses together.

In that moment, everything truly felt perfect.

xxxx

Quinn shivered as she walked outside in Central Park; the fresh New York air pricking at her skin.

Puck took of his black leather jacket and handed it to her, "Here… wear this."

"Oh, it's okay Puck…I'm fine, really."

"No seriously Q, wear it…I know your cold."

As she took the jacket from his hand, the heavy material of the leather brushed against her skin. She pulled her hands through the sleeves slowly, and couldn't resist inhaling the scent a bit. The jacket smelled just like Puck: like cologne and the dampness you get in the air right after it rains. "Thank you," she whispered, as she pulled her freezing cold hands up into the long sleeves.

"Anytime," he replied.

She looked around at the downtown city lights that shone brightly in the night sky. She loved New York. It was so beautiful, busy, and crazy; it was the exact opposite of Ohio.

"Don't you just love it here?" Quinn hummed quietly, more to herself than to anyone else.

"You can't help but love New York," Puck said, following her actions by looking up into the night sky.

The two of them walked in silence for a while as they slowed their pace to let Rachel and Finn get a few steps ahead of them. Things were still slightly awkward between the two of them, especially when they were alone. They didn't know what to say that could make things better, or that could somehow erase the events of the week before.

"I'MSORRY," they both blurted out at the same time, instantly breaking out into laughter right after.

"I'm sorry," Quinn repeated, this time a little more slowly. "I'm sorry for what happened at the airport, I shouldn't have just walked away, but I was upset and confused with what you just told me, and I didn't know what else to do… I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry Quinn… I should have just let it go. I shouldn't have expected you to run into my arms. I messed up that night at the bar, and it was ridiculous for me to expect that we could just pretend it wasn't a big deal. I should have waited to tell you those things when there was more time to talk about it, not at the freaking airport of all places. I guess I just didn't want to run out of time."

They sat in silence for a few seconds. "I missed you Puck," Quinn said softly, "I know it was only a week, and we didn't talk all of junior year, but it felt like forever. It was strange not calling you every other day, or sending you a text grumbling about schoolwork. It's those little things that I missed the most."

"I missed you too Q, more than I've ever missed anyone before."

"Friends?" Quinn said, turning to face him.

"Always," he replied, leaning into hug her. They lingered there for a while, neither one of them wanting to pull away, but eventually they knew they had too.

"So, anything new in you life? A new girl?" she joked, but the image of Puck kissing the brunette from the bar flashed through her mind as soon as she spoke. She shook her head to get rid of the visual image. She couldn't spend the rest of her life avoiding relationship conversations with Puck. She just needed to forget about the past and move on. "We do have a whole week that we missed out on...so maybe multiple girls?" Quinn teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Ha ha very funny Fabray, but the answer is no. No new girls… but I here you and Hollister boy have a thing."

Quinn looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"Hey Q…it's okay," Puck said gently, using two of his fingers to slowly tilt her chin up so she was looking at him. "If you're happy, then I'm happy."

Quinn smiled, grateful for Puck's support. She didn't know if she liked James or not, but knowing that Puck was okay with it made her feel better either way. "Thank you… but his name is actually James," she said, chuckling slightly.

"James," Puck repeated back, trying the words out on his tongue. "Hmm, okay, I still like Hollister boy. But when I meet him, I promise I'll be nice." In his mind he was really thinking about how he could beat the guy up.

"I would appreciate it," Quinn teased, shooting him a grin.

As Rachel and Finn neared the Bow Bridge in front of them, Puck and Quinn stopped in unison. Together and without saying a word, the two of them wandered over to a nearby bench. They sat down, and turned to face their best friends, knowing that what happened in a few minutes was going to change their life forever.

"So this is it…" Quinn said, "I can't believe they are finally going to be engaged."

"Unless she says no."

Quinn elbowed him, "She won't say no."

"How do you know? She said no before didn't she? It was only a year ago," he teased, referring to the premature Finchel engagement senior year. But the truth was that Puck knew Rachel would say yes this time.

"But they're older now; they're different," Quinn said. She couldn't explain it exactly, but something had changed between Rachel and Finn, between all of them for that matter. They were more stable, more concrete.

From their seats a few feet away, Quinn and Puck could here Finn talking as he stopped Rachel on the bridge…

"Do you remember when we came here for our date in junior year?" Finn asked, and Puck could hear the slight nervous tone in his friend's voice. "We took a stroll on this exact bridge, then we went to Sardi's for dinner."

"I'll never forget it," Rachel said softly.

"We'll this is the exact place where I knew. I knew that you were the one I wanted to laugh with, the one I wanted to cry with, the one I loved more than anything else. This was the exact place where I realized that you were the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."

The smile slowly melted off Rachel's face as she looked up at him, her brown eyes sparkling vividly from his confession and from the love she felt for him. Her heart beat wildly in her chest.

"Rachel, when I first met you I knew you were a star. You were beautiful, kind, slightly bossy…" he said, laughing, "and so devoted. You have more passion for life than I ever thought possible. You are going to become a broad-way star, because when you're onstage you shine brighter than anyone else. I need to stop and catch my breath every time I see you and every time I hear you sing, because it just takes my breath away. I know that you will go on to become a star to the world, but you are already a star to me. You always have been and you always will be."

Rachel stared at Finn in awe, as the tears started to fall down her face.

"When I'm with you, I feel complete, and I can't imagine a day of my life spent without you. I love you so much… Rachel Barbara Berry, will you marry me?"' Finn asked, getting down on one knee as he opened up the black velvet box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring.

Rachel was speechless, as the tears streamed down her face. She slapped her hand over her mouth in surprise as she nodded, "Yes," she choked out, "yes, of course I'll marry you!"

Finn let out a huge smile and a shaky sigh of relief, as he slid the ring onto Rachel's finger. She glanced down at it in admiration before turning to face her new fiancé. "I love you," she said, leaning forward and dropping a passionate kiss to his lips. Finn smiled as he kissed her back, feeling like the happiest and luckiest guy in the world.

"I love you so much Rach," he whispered as they pulled away.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the late update! I was away last weekend and then had a few tests this week, so I hope the extra long chapter makes up for it (its like 2 in 1)! Thanks to everyone who is reading and alerting this story, your support means the world to me and keeps me writing! Special thanks to Sara, Amanda, and ****gleeothfriends90210cccjsdAMD for the sweet reviews, they mean so much :) Also, I apologize in advance for any time discrepancies there might be in the plot line… I try to be as accurate as possible but sometimes I overlook certain things. Once again, thanks so much, and I hope you enjoy :D **

"Quinn, are you okay?" James asked, glancing over at her from the drivers seat in the car. She had been slightly distant the last few days and it worried him. Usually she was her gorgeous, glowing, happy and slightly sarcastic self, but lately she had seemed off. She stopped calling him at night to talk and never seemed to be fully involved in their conversations whenever they went out on a date. After almost three months of dating, he knew Quinn well enough to know that something wasn't right.

"Hmmm," Quinn said, turning from her position looking out the window to face him. Her hazel eyes were slightly watery, and her eyes avoided making direct contact with his, preferring to look directly behind him at the window instead.

"I asked if you were okay, you seem kinda…I dunno, sad lately."

"I'm fine," she said sighing, "I'm just tired, that's all." It was an excuse, she knew that, and she figured that James probably did too. She was on top of her schoolwork and was doing a few small jobs here and there but nothing truly demanding enough to tire her out. March was just a difficult month for her in general. No matter what she did, she couldn't stop her mind from drifting off and thinking about the things she thought she would be able to leave behind in Lima.

"Are you sure?"

Quinn forced a smile and pulled her eyes up to meet his. "Yeah," she said softly, appreciating the tenderness coming across in his voice. She couldn't help but swoon a little every time she looked up at him. He really was the epitome of a perfect boyfriend, with his gorgeous blue eyes and muscular body.

"You would tell me right?" James asked, as he pulled up in front of her and Rachel's apartment, looking around for a free parking spot; a rare commodity in New York.

"Of course I would," she said, but even that was partially a lie because she hadn't been completely open with him as of yet. There were still a few parts of her past, namely Beth, which remained hidden from James, covered beneath layers of sadness, regret and pretending that she truly was okay. She knew that it wasn't right or fair to keep something so serious and big from him, especially when their relationship was getting pretty serious pretty fast. However, she just couldn't find the right moment to tell him. She would do it soon, she told herself.

"You promise?"

His gentle words drew Quinn out of her thoughts, as she glanced back up at him. The look of worry was evident in his tone of voice, but his crystal blue eyes held a look of concern that made Quinn's heart lurch. She bit her lip out of worry; she hated this. She hated herself for not telling him yet about Beth and Puck yet. It was even worse that James had actually met Puck, and liked him for that matter. The subject matter made her feel slightly sick to her stomach as she thought about how complicated the situation was.

"I promise," she eventually said, softly. He nodded his head, as he finally found a parking stall a few metres away from the apartment.

Content with this answer for now, James jumped out of the car and walked around to open Quinn's door. She smiled up at him lovingly and reached for his extended hand to pull her to her feet. They intertwined their fingers together, and began to walk to Quinn's apartment, letting the damp spring air sink into their skin.

"Thank for dinner," Quinn said, as they waited for the apartment elevator to arrive. "But you really don't have to pay every time you know."

"A gentleman always pays," James replied charmingly, squeezing her hand slightly.

"On the first date… yes. But we can split it sometimes," she said, hitting the button again, impatient for the elevator to arrive.

"You deserve the world Quinn," James spoke, as the elevator doors open and they stepped inside. "You're perfect."

She frowned slightly. James was always telling her these sorts of things, like how beautiful she was, or how smart she was, or how she deserves good things. And don't get her wrong, she loves the feeling of happiness and warmth it gives her hearing her boyfriend say such loving and tender things. But at the same time, Quinn can't help but think that maybe he is only saying those things because he doesn't know the full truth about her.

"I'm not perfect."

"To me you are. Nothing could change that."

She faked an appreciative smile at him, as the elevator doors finally arrived on their floor. Together they made their way back to the apartment she rented with Rachel. Digging around for her key in her purse, Quinn felt James reach over to brush a few wispy pieces of her blonde hair behind her ear, lightly pressing a kiss to her temple. She felt bad for being so distant lately, and she wanted to show him that she still cared about him, or maybe she just wanted to give her mind a break. Either way, Quinn felt her cheeks go red at the subtle yet sweet moment, and she leaned into kiss him on the lips after she managed to get the door open.

He smiled into the kiss and slowly moved his tongue into her mouth. She obliged to his request and parted her lips slightly. Their tongues dueled for a while, as he gently pushed her into the apartment, kicking the door closed behind him. His mouth tasted like peppermint, she noted, as they fell back on the leather couch in the living room.

They continued to make-out for a little while in the dimly lighted apartment; the only glow coming from the street lamps and building lights that shone in through the window. Wanting to take it even further, James began to run his hands down Quinn's sides to the bottom of her dress. He toyed with the hemline and gently grazed her skin with his fingers, as he began to move the dress up her legs slowly. Quinn flinched slightly when she felt his hands slide down, and she pulled back rather abruptly the second he started to pull up her dress. She wasn't ready for this. She liked James, and there was even a chance that she could love him, but she wasn't ready for the next step. With everything going on and all her emotions, Quinn didn't want to give into something she didn't truly want just because she was vulnerable or feeling guilty about being distant. Puck remained her first and only time, and she was still slightly apprehensive about giving it up again. She wanted to take things slow, really slow.

"I'm so sorry Quinn," James said, slightly out of breath, as he felt her pull back from him. "I didn't mean to push you, or…"

She stared at him, unsure of what exactly to say.

"It was stupid, I shouldn't have done it, I just got carried away because I like you so damn much, and I think there's really have something between us. I'm sorry, I-"

"James," Quinn said quietly. "It's not your fault, you didn't push me into anything. You're such a gentleman and you're so respectful, and I appreciate that about you so much. I just… It's complicated," she finally decided on saying. "I want to take things slow…"

"Of course," he said, slightly relieved that she didn't freak out more. She seemed so fragile lately, and he didn't want to be the one to break her. He never should have initiated anything more. He was happy just to see Quinn every day that his emotions just got the better of him.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"You don't have to be sorry about anything," he replied, placing his arm gently on her shoulder. "I'm the one who's sorry. I like you so much, and I don't want to do anything to screw up what we have."

She smiled, and leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

The thoughts that she had managed to shove out of her mind for a while, hit her full storm again. James felt so bad for trying to take things a step further, but he really didn't know the main reason why she had pulled away. Once again, she couldn't help but feel guilty at not telling him.

Quinn wasn't ready for the next step for multiple reasons, but if she was being completely honest with herself, she just didn't feel as comfortable with James as she did with Puck. The second the thought popped into her head, she pushed it away. She was so emotional lately that she had to look away so James couldn't see her eyes fill up with tears.

"I'm really tired, I should probably get some sleep," Quinn said, trying to seem confident and at ease, even though she was feeling the complete opposite.

"Sure," James said, a hint of disappointment evident in his voice. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm totally fine," she said, getting up to walk him to the door.

"I'm really sorry Quinn."

She shook her head, "Don't be. I just…," she sighed before continuing on, "I just want to take things slow."

"Of course."

He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, as he walked out.

"I'll stop by tomorrow then?" he asked.

She bit her lip, "I think I'll be out a lot tomorrow," she lied. Tomorrow was going to be difficult day, no matter what she did to occupy herself. All she wanted was a day where she could crawl up in her bed and cry without having to worry about anything else.

"Oh okay," he said, giving her a quizzical look.

"I'll see you the day after," Quinn said, trying to seem upbeat and happy. Why was he taking so long to leave? She just wanted to shut the door and be alone already.

"Sounds good…bye Q."

She winced as the nickname left his mouth. Only three people called her Q: Santana, Coach Sylvester and Puck. It felt weird and foreign hearing someone else say it, especially James. Maybe she was overreacting, but she didn't like it. It seemed forced, like he was trying to make their relationship feel more comfortable, like they had known each other for a lot longer than they actually had.

Quinn watched as he walked down the hallway and closed the apartment door as soon as she couldn't see him anymore. The second the lock clicked into place, she began to cry and she didn't even attempt to stop the tears from falling.

It wasn't even Beth's birthday yet.

xxxx

Quinn awoke the next morning instantly dreading the day ahead of her. It was Beth's birthday. The one day of the year that Quinn both loved and hated beyond compare. She loved it, because it marked the day she finally got to hold her daughter in her hands after eight months of wondering and waiting. Never had she felt more complete, more whole, and more okay, in her entire life than she did in that moment. When Beth was in her arms, Quinn felt like the world stopped turning and her heart stopped beating. She would give up anything to simply go back and be able to relive those few perfect moments one more time. But at the same time, she hated the day too. She hated it because the one perfect thing in her life had been ripped from her hands. She hated herself for signing away her baby girl who she loved more than she ever thought capable. It made her heart ache to simply think about giving her up. Quinn often found herself wishing for the ability to skip over Beth's birthday; to simply skip ahead one day and pretend it never happened. If only it was that easy.

Every year on Beth's birthday, Puck would show up at her house uninvited with a bouquet of purple tulips and a single vanilla cupcake. They would sit outside underneath the stars together, sing happy birthday and precede to eat their half of the cupcake. It was a tradition. It didn't matter if they hadn't talked in months, or if they were dating other people, her birthday brought them together. They would forget about all the pointless drama and things keeping them apart, and just be together on that one special day. Quinn felt her cheeks dampen with tears at the thought of not being able to spend it with Puck this year. He had some big performance thing in Rhode Island and wouldn't be able to make it to New York. She was happy that his band had a gig, but it broke her heart a little knowing they wouldn't be together. She knew that it was going to be a lot harder. Puck was her rock. His presence always made her feel better, and she didn't know how she was going to be able to cope with her little girl's birthday on her own.

Quinn began to rummage through her nightstand table for a little while until she found the picture she was looking for. Mercedes had it taken the day Beth was born. It was just the three of them – Beth, Puck, and her. It was a beautiful picture but heartbreaking too, because it marked their first family moment but also their last. Quinn was so happy that she had made amends with Shelby and had even been able to see Beth last time she was in Ohio. It was a memory she will truly cherish forever; being able to hold her little girl in her arms again and run her fingers threw her curly blonde hair. However, it didn't fill the longing in her heart. She wished she could be sharing in the celebration today, but she didn't have the courage to ask Shelby about it. Quinn knew that establishing a relationship with Beth would take time and patience and she didn't want to push it. But she just couldn't wait for the day where she and Puck would actually be able to spend their daughter's birthday by her side.

Tired of thinking about everything, she forced herself out of bed and into the shower. The hot water felt soothing on her skin, and she soaked in the warmth for as long as possible, before finally telling herself to get out. Throwing on sweatpants, and tossing her hair up into a messy bun, Quinn journeyed to the living room where she found Rachel sipping coffee and looking at bridal magazines.

"So Quinn, what one do you think?" Rachel immediately asked, holding up two different pictures of flower arrangements. "I was thinking the lilies, they are just so much more elegant don't you think? I mean… I love tulips, but they are way more casual, maybe not as appropriate for the wedding."

Quinn let out a sigh, as she plopped down in the chair next to Rachel. She was so tired of wedding planning and it had only been a couple of months. She still had another eight or so to go. Plus, she really wasn't in the mood to talk about wedding details today of all days.

"So the lilies then?" Rachel repeated, more to herself than anyone else. "But I do love the tulips," she said, holding up the second picture to observe them again, as if she hadn't stared at it a hundred times before. "What do you think Quinn?"

"I don't know Rach…" she replied, frustrated, " What one do you like best?"

"You are not being very helpful right now, you're supposed to be giving me advice you know...not just sitting there."

Quinn let out a deep sigh, "Look, I'm sorry for being on edge, but I'm so tired with making wedding decisions all the time. I love you, and I'm so incredibly happy that you and Finn are getting married, and don't get me wrong…I am absolutely honoured to be your Maid of Honour. I love helping you make your perfect day perfect. But I miss the days where we could just sit and talk…not about flower arrangements or band choices, but just sit and talk about life, or the fact that today is…" she paused, preparing herself to say the words out loud, "or that today is Beth's birthday," she finally admitted.

Rachel immediately set down the pictures and turned to face her best friend, a pained look on her face, "Oh my god, Quinn! I'm so sorry," she said gently, kicking herself for forgetting something so important. "I'm so sorry, you're right. I'm a horrible friend, I can't believe I forgot…"

"It's okay…I'm sorry I snapped."

"No, it's not okay. You had every right to snap, I've been so busy lately that I totally forgot about the things that truly matter. You are more important to me than any of this wedding crap, but I haven't been showing it enough lately...are you okay?"

Quinn nodded, trying to prevent the tears from flowing but it did no good. Before she knew it, she was full out sobbing, mumbling incoherent sentences and crawling up into a bawl in the kitchen chair.

"Oh sweetie," Rachel said, getting up and enveloping her friend in a giant embrace. She rubbed her back soothingly, like a mother would to a child after a bad dream, and tenderly pulled back Quinn's wet hair from her face. "It's okay to cry, just let it all out."

"It just…..hurts so much…. it doesn't ever get…any ….easier," she managed to say through the sobs.

"I know," Rachel said softly.

"I just want to h-hold her, and tell her I love her."

"Quinn…"

"What if she doesn't know? What if she thinks I didn't want her because I didn't love her?"

"Quinn, Beth will never think that. Shelby will never let her think that. Plus, you and Puck will be such an important part of her life."

Quinn nodded slightly, wiping away the tears with the back of her hand.

"You might not be her parents, but you guys can still be her role models. The people she comes to for advice, the people she can cry with and laugh with, the people who she'll trust more than anyone else in the world. That will be you Quinn," Rachel said, leaning in to hug her friend again.

"What if she hates me when she finds out the truth?" Quinn asked. She was finally telling someone all of her worst fears and it felt so good to get it off her chest after all these years.

"She won't hate you Quinn. She might not understand at first, but eventually she'll come to see that you and Puck made that decision because you wanted the best for her. And that shows just how much you love her."

Quinn looked up at Rachel, their eyes locking in the process. And in that moment, Quinn just knew that Rachel was right. She could just see it in her friend's chocolate brown eyes that everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you…" Quinn whispered.

"No, thank you Quinn. Thank you for teaching me what it means to be strong and showing me that I can overcome anything."

Both of the friends were crying again. But this time it wasn't just about sadness and heartbreak, it was about love and friendship. It was about the power and the strength the two of them had when they were together. They sat in silence for a while and sipped from cups of tea as their tears dried, leaving slightly stained pathways on their cheeks.

Quinn eventually spoke first, "I haven't told James yet."

Rachel pivoted in her chair to face her, a confused expression etched on her face.

"I haven't really told him about…Beth yet," Quinn explained, tasting the words out on her tongue in preparation for when she would eventually confess the truth.

"You haven't told James that you had a baby sophomore year with the guy he met at the Rangers game?" Rachel asked in a gentle tone.

Quinn flinched slightly. It sounded way worse when Rachel put it like that, especially because James had actually met Puck and liked him. The fact that he didn't know anything about their history together made Quinn feel even worse about the situation. Plus, it was strange to think about her ex-boyfriend best friend baby's daddy hanging out with her current boyfriend at a hockey game. It was just too much to comprehend, and she preferred not to think about it at all.

"I may have neglected to mention that."

"Quinn, you've been dating the guy for more than three months, how did you avoid it for so long?"

"I haven't been avoiding it… I just, I haven't found the right time. Plus three months isn't that long…"

Rachel raised her perfectly groomed eyebrows in response. "Are you serious?"

"Well what am I supposed to say? Hey James, remember that guy you went to the hockey game with? Puck was his name... well anyways, I had sex with him sophomore year and got knocked up."

"You could try something slightly more eloquent," Rachel offered.

Quinn let out a long frustrated sigh, before slamming herself back in the chair in frustration. "This is so freaking difficult!"

"Well you've had boyfriends since then… how did you tell Sam?"

"He just knew. The hallways at McKinley told more secrets than the people in them."

"Okay then… how did you tell… umm," Rachel pondered, struggling to come up with another person.

"Finn?" Quinn half-joked… "Pretty sure he already knew about that one."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Stop being so difficult Quinn," she teased. "James is a good guy. You just need to sit down, explain everything and be truthful with him. I'm sure he'll understand."

"I hope so," Quinn said quietly.

xxxxx

Quinn rolled over in her bed and pulled her pillow over her head. She couldn't sleep. Maybe it was because it was only seven o'clock and still light outside, but really it was because of Beth's birthday. She had talked to Puck earlier, and she could tell that he was off too. Hearing his voice had been comforting, but it wasn't the same as it had been in the past. It was difficult being apart for this day; it made her feel even emptier if that was even possible.

A soft knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Quinn?" she heard Rachel say softly on the other side of the door. "Are you asleep."

"Not yet…"

"Ohh okay. Well I'm going to go out and meet Finn for a bit, are you okay by yourself?"

"Yeah I'm fine," she lied, forcing herself to smile even though Rachel couldn't see her face. She hoped it would somehow make her words seem more convincing. "Have fun, I'll talk to you later."

"Okay…try and eat something alright?"

Quinn sighed at Rachel's overprotectiveness but agreed nevertheless, knowing that an argument would result if she protested too much. "Okay, I will."

Quinn stayed in her bed for a few more moments, pulling the blankets tight across her chest. She pulled out the picture from her bedside drawer again and placed it underneath her pillow, somehow hoping that it would make her feel better; make her feel like Beth was here with her. After a few moments, she heard Rachel's boots click against the floor before hearing the door close and the key lock in place. Turning over in bed, Quinn's stomach rumbled and she knew that Rachel was right. As much as she hated to admit it, she did need to eat something. So she dragged herself out of bed yet again and wandered to the kitchen.

"Rachel made it seem like you would never leave your room."

Quinn screamed when she heard the strange voice, and she quickly skidded on the hardwood floors, causing her to loose her balance and wipe out hard on the floor.

"Shit, are you okay?"

Quinn immediately felt herself sigh out of relief when she realized that the strange voice actually belonged to Puck.

Wait. Puck?

She shrieked again, finally comprehending that Noah Puckerman was standing in the middle of her apartment.

"PUCK!" she screamed, pulling herself off the floor, wincing in pain slightly from the fall. "What the hell are you doing here? And don't you ever scare me like that again!" she said, giving him a playful punch in the shoulder.

He chuckled slightly at the expression on her face, as he leaned in to give her a quick hug. She returned the hug, but was still in so much shock that she didn't really comprehend what was happening.

"I thought your band was opening for a show? What are you doing here?" she asked again, clearly flustered.

"I realized that my family was more important."

Quinn felt her heart skip a little when he referred to her as family. But he was right; they were a family, as screwed up as they may be, they would always be a family.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Puck said, reaching over and grabbing a bouquet of tulips off the coffee table.

Tears began to spring at Quinn's eyes at the sweet gesture, as she leaned over to accept the flowers from his arms.

"Hey, don't cry…" he said softly.

"They're good tears…it's just so sweet that you remembered our little tradition."

"Of course I remembered, which is why there is a vanilla cupcake waiting on the kitchen table," he added, winking.

"Thank you," Quinn said softly, pulling him in for another hug. Her tears damped his shirt, and he smiled at the feeling of being so close to Quinn again. He missed her so damn much.

"But there is also some pizza waiting for us… because Rachel mentioned that you hadn't eaten today…"

"Of course she did," Quinn replied with a role of her eyes.

Feeling much better already now that they were in each other's company, the two of them sat down at the kitchen table. The hours ticked by quickly as they drank wine (courtesy of Santana of course) ate pizza and shared with each other all of the things on their minds. Quinn felt so grateful to have Puck in her life and even more fortunate that he had driven all the way from Rhode Island to spend Beth's birthday with her. With Puck, everything just felt so easy. She could talk about everything bothering her and just know that he would understand. It was the best feeling in the world.

After hours of talking, the two of them found their way to the small, wedged-in apartment balcony. They lit the birthday candle in the middle of the cupcake, and began to softly sing happy birthday to Beth. They locked watery eyes over the glow from the candle and gave each other a pathetic attempt at a smile. Interlocking their hands together, they both leaned over and gave a gentle blow, extinguishing the small flame.

"I love you baby girl," Quinn whispered, the tears returning to her eyes once more. Sometimes she felt as if she would never stop crying. She felt Puck squeeze her hand in response, and she squeezed back. It was their special thing, the hand squeezing. They didn't need to speak to understand or comfort one other, because they had unspoken support. It was the little, subtle gestures that let the other person know what they were thinking and how they are feeling.

"We love you," Puck whispered back.

They sat in silence for a few moments as they each ate their half of the cupcake, trying to focus on the sweet flavour instead of the sad thoughts that often accompanied this day.

"Did you ever hate me?" Quinn asked suddenly, looking up at Puck from across the table. "You know…for giving her up?"

"No…I could never hate you Quinn. Sometimes I've found myself wishing that I could, because I think it would be easier. But I can't. It's just impossible."

"I wouldn't blame you if you did… I hate myself sometimes," she admitted.

"You have nothing, absolutely nothing to hate yourself for."

"I just wonder what it would've been like if we kept her… and it hurts to think about what could've been."

"I know," he said softly. "I used to wish that we kept her, and I still do sometimes, and I'm sure I always will. But one day, I just woke up and it suddenly dawned on me that everything worked out just the way it was supposed to. That maybe everything does happen for a reason. Shelby's a good mom to Beth, but we can still be a big part of her life. Maybe we weren't meant to be her parents, but we were meant to bring her into the world… and that really means something."

"I wanted to keep her…I really did."

"But you loved her too much to keep her. You made the toughest and strongest decision that anyone can ever make because of how much you love her. I know it hurts, and it probably always will, but in the end, we know that we did the right thing. We gave her the life she deserved."

Quinn nodded slowly, trying to absorb all the information.

"And you know what else?" Puck asked.

"What?"

"If we kept her, we probably wouldn't be sitting here today. We wouldn't be the people we are. Beth made us better people Quinn; she made us want to be people that she could be proud of. And if we kept her, then maybe we wouldn't have this special bond that we do today."

"How is it that you always know what to say to make me feel better?"

He shrugged, "Maybe were not so different after all."

"Maybe you're right…"

"You made the right decision Quinn, and I could never ever hate you for that, if anything it makes me love you even more."

"Thank you for coming here tonight, it feels a thousand times better," she said softly, taking in his words.

"I missed you… it just didn't feel right not being together…and thank you."

"For what?" she asked.

"For giving me a chance when no one else did, for believing in me. For actually seeing me as the person that I am."

"You believed in me too. Maybe we just believe in each other more than we believe in ourselves…"

They smiled at each other weakly, as they looked out at the New York sky. In that moment, things felt a lot less broken and empty; they almost felt whole again.

"You know Q… no matter where we are in the world, a part of our hearts will always belong to Beth. She'll always be with us, and maybe that's what love really is: giving up a piece of your heart for someone else."


	14. Chapter 14

**Wow, thank you all so much for the incredible support! I really can't express how grateful and appreciative I am. Special thanks to ****andsoitis2****, wani, ****xxBabyT-ranxx****, ****Shananigan****, ****joro3****, ****olacindy****, ****Written-in-hearts****, and Livy for all the wonderful comments! Sorry for the late update, hope you like it : )**

Quinn watched the rainfall down from her small bedroom window. She secretly liked the rain, even though everyone else in New York complained about it. She loved the smell and the dampness that accompanied it. She loved the way it made all her problems wash away, if only for just a little while. It had been a week since Beth's birthday and she still hadn't told James about any of it. Every time she opened her mouth to make the big reveal she found herself at a loss for words. It felt like some big power was stopping her from telling him, even though she just wanted it to be over. She made the decision that today she was going to tell him everything. No if ands or buts. She was going to do it fast, just like ripping off a Band-Aid. All she could do was hope that the wound wasn't too bad and that he would be able to forgive her for being so secretive and distant.

At that second, the doorbell rang, drawing her out of her thoughts.

"This is it," Quinn muttered under her breath before taking a deep breath and pushing herself off her bed.

She pulled open the door to find her boyfriend standing on the other side, a bouquet of daises in his hand and a grin plastered on his face.

"Hey," he said sweetly, leaning in to place a kiss on her cheek before handing over the daisies.

"Aww thanks," Quinn said softly, admiring the white flowers, even though tulips were her favourite. Puck never failed to forget that. Quinn pushed the thought out of her mind the second it arose. She hated the fact that she was always subconsciously comparing the two guys. She didn't understand why Puck always popped up in her head at times like this; it wasn't like she even had feelings for him anymore. Or at least, that's what she told herself.

"So where do you want to go for lunch today?" James asked.

"Hmm, maybe we could try that diner Rachel and Finn were talking about. I could go for a milkshake," she replied, putting the flowers in water.

"Sounds good Q."

She froze at the sink when she heard his use of her nickname for the second time. "Why do you call me that?" she asked.

"Call you what?"

"Q."

"I dunno, I guess I've heard Santana call you that before," he said, remembering the time he met Quinn's hot friend at the wedding. "And maybe that Puck dude."

Quinn flinched when he said that, knowing that in less than an hour James wasn't going to think of Puck as "some dude" but rather, the guy who knocked his current girlfriend up in high school. "Oh," she said, cocking her head to the side.

"Do you not like it?"

"It's not that I don't like it… its just that only three people really call me Q. And it feels weird hearing you say it."

"Oh, sorry." James said.

Quinn could hear the hurt in his tone. She instantly regretted bringing up the topic; she should have just dropped it. She didn't need another thing to worry about today.

"You don't need to be sorry," Quinn said giving him a quick peck on the cheek, "I was just curious, forget I mentioned it. I'll just grab my jacket and then we'll head out. Kay?"

"Okay…probably a good idea to wear rain boots too, its coming down hard," he advised as Quinn rummaged through the small front closest.

She pulled on her turquoise blue boots, before interlacing her hand with his. She prayed that he didn't notice how clammy her hand was from sweating out of nervousness.

"You okay, babe? You seem a little off," James said, as Quinn locked the apartment door behind her.

"Oh, me? I'm fine. Never been better," she lied, pulling him towards the elevator.

xxxxxx

Quinn absentmindedly twirled her straw in thick pink milkshake sitting in front of her. She avoided eye contact with James, as she pulled the straw out and licked it like a five year old would do.

"You're adorable," James said, watching Quinn as she played with her drink.

She finally looked up at his eyes and gave her best attempt at a smile, before shoving the silver milkshake cup off to the side. She stood up in her seat as her facial expression changed to a more serious one.

"Ihavesomethingtotellyou," they both blurted out at exactly the same time.

James started chuckling at their synchronization, but Quinn was too nervous to laugh. Instead, she found herself staring at him, waiting for him to say something, anything at all.

"Sorry, you go first," he told her after a few seconds, suppressing a smile.

"Please don't be upset," she whispered, averting her gaze back to the linoleum table. Instantly, the smile disappeared off James' face and it turned to a more serious and concerned look.

James leaned forwards as she spoke, resting his hand on top of hers. "Quinn, what's wrong you're scaring me."

"Nothings wrong," she replied gently, pulling back her hand. For some reason, she couldn't stand the contact; it made her feel claustrophobic. "I just…have something that I need to share with you. It happened a few years ago."

"Okay…"

"I…umm…" She paused.

"Quinn, just tell me. I won't be upset, I promise."

She took a deep, but shaky breath, and closed her eyes as she tried to remember what exactly she had rehearsed that morning in front of her bathroom mirror.

"In sophomore year of high school, I dated Finn –"

"Wait," James interrupted, "Finn, as in Rachel's fiancé? That Finn?"

Quinn frowned, annoyed that he interrupted her when this clearly was very difficult for her to say. "Yes, that Finn."

James let out a stark laugh, "Oh Quinn, I don't care about some silly high school boyfriend you had."

"I'm not finished yet," she replied, a tinge frustrated.

"Sorry, continue…"

"I was dating Finn, I was captain of the cheerios." She watched James frown from across the table, "It was the nickname we had for the cheerleading squad at my high school," she explained to him, and he nodded in response. "Anyways, one day I got let out early from practice. My coach told me I had gained three pounds, and I felt absolutely horrible. I was disgusted with myself, mainly because it reminded me of when I was younger… and a little chubby," she said, feeling slightly relieved that James already knew about her Lucy Caboosey days. It was one less thing she needed to explain now. "So, I ran to my car in tears, I was so upset. Puck, you went to the game with him," Quinn reminded.

"Yeah I know Puck…"

"Well Puck saw that I was upset and he offered to drive me home. He said I shouldn't be driving when I was upset and crying. So he drove me home and I invited him in. We weren't really friends or anything. I only knew him as Finn's best friend and Santana's fuck buddy of course. But he seemed like a nice guy. So we had a few wine coolers to take the edge off. And then before I knew it, we were making out."

James frowned as she spoke, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"I didn't not like it either," Quinn continued. "I know I should have pushed him away, but I didn't really want to. He kept telling me how beautiful I was and that I wasn't fat. I felt so vulnerable and upset, but he also made me feel loved, something that Finn didn't really understand how to do. Eventually, the make-out session turned into something more and we had….we had sex. I cheated on Finn with his best friend," Quinn blurted out, averting her gaze immediately.

By now, James' eyes were wide in surprise. "You had sex with Puck?"

Quinn nodded her head in confirmation.

"Holy shit."

"I'm sorry."

"Quinn, I'm not upset with you about that, I'm just shocked is all. I trust you; I don't think that you're going to cheat on me or anything. Is that what you're worried about?"

"No," she replied firmly. "But just let me finish okay…I'm not done."

He nodded. "Okay go on…"

"So a few days after we had sex, I found out that..." She gulped in order to prepare herself for what she was finally about to admit and what James was probably starting to figure out…. "That I was pregnant. I was pregnant with Puck's baby," she whispered quickly.

"Oh god," James muttered under his breath from across the table. He pounded his fist onto the table, making the plates and glasses sitting on top shuffle. "Fucking Puck got you pregnant," he yelled, attracting the attention of many onlookers.

"James, please," Quinn said softly, trying to calm him down. "It wasn't just him…"

"I can't believe this. How could you keep this from me Quinn? We've been dating for four months! I went to a fucking hockey game with the guy! How come you didn't tell me?"

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry," she said, a tear trickling down her face.

"Then what…then what happened? Did Finn ever find out? Does he know now, or is it some big fat secret still?

"Of course he knows… do you seriously think I would be able to be such good friends with him if he didn't know? I know this is big news but is that really who you think I am now?"

James ran his hand through his blonde hair, taking a deep breath in the process. "No…I'm sorry, I just don't know what to say," he replied more gently, his emotions managing to level themselves out a bit.

Quinn ignored his words, and continued on with her story, "I pretended that Finn was the father for a few months. I couldn't tell him the truth. I knew that I could count on him and that he would be there for the baby and me. I felt bad for lying, and for making Puck feel like he was second best. But I was scared. My dad kicked me out, I got booted off the cheerios, I lost people who I thought were my friends, I became a nobody. But eventually, everyone figured it out. Rachel was the one who told him..."

" This is too much…"

"I had the baby right after our glee competition and Puck was there to see her being born. We loved her more than anything else in the world, but we couldn't keep her. We knew she deserved a better life. So we gave her up…to Rachel's birth mother. I still see her sometimes, she's beautiful…my perfect thing. The one thing I got right."

"What's her name?" James asked, his voice serious but softer than before.

"Beth."

"Beth," he repeated back. "It's pretty."

"It was Puck's idea."

"So you went through all that shit Quinn?"

"Yeah…" she said softly, "and junior and senior year weren't much better. There was this crazy theory I had that I could somehow get Beth back," she admitted, almost laughing at how absurd it sounded now. "But eventually I got my act together, started learning to be grateful for all I had in my life."

"I'm proud of you," James said.

Quinn smiled at his words, feeling so relieved that the truth had finally come out. But she couldn't help but notice how different the words "I'm proud of you," sounded coming out of James' mouth compared to when Puck said it a mere year ago. It didn't give Quinn the same warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. Once again, she ignored it, telling herself not to compare two totally different people.

"I really am proud of you, you went through something that most teenagers shouldn't. But look at you know," he motioned towards her.

"Thank you. I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner. I meant to, I really did but I just couldn't find the right time…I know that's no excuse. But last week was her birthday and I just couldn't do it, it was too hard. I'm really sorry…please forgive me."

"Of course I forgive you. I just wish that you had felt comfortable telling me in the first place, because I don't want there to be secrets between us. I want you to know that you can tell me anything. I'm sorry for yelling earlier, I just was so shocked; I'm sorry too."

"Thank you for understanding," she said, leaning across the table to place a chaste kiss on his lips. "I'm lucky to have you."

"No….I'm the lucky one. You know how many guys would kill to date you?"

Quinn blushed at the compliment, biting her lower lip out of habit.

"But I do have one question."

"Anything," she replied. "I know I just told you a lot of information that's probably hard to comprehend. I'll answer anything you want to know."

"After Beth….did anything happen between you and Puck again?"

Quinn frowned slightly, surprised at his question. She was prepared for questions about Beth but not necessarily about Puck. "Umm.. no. Not really. We ignored each other for a year; it just hurt too much. Whenever I saw him I saw Beth. I think we needed that time apart to give ourselves a break from all the heartache. But senior year, he helped me a lot. I did try to seduce him once," she answered truthfully, chuckling slightly at how stupid it seemed, "but that ended really quickly. Puck is one of my best friends now, and he really helped me see that I could get out of Lima. It doesn't weird you out, does it? That I'm just good friends with him."

"No…I understand. It's good that you're friends, I just wanted to know."

"You're the one I want to be with James," Quinn reassured him, grabbing his hand. Yet, she couldn't quite tell if it was him she was reassuring or herself.

He smiled back at her lovingly. For a few minutes they sit in silence; the only sound is of their forks clattering against the plate. But it isn't an awkward silence at all; it's more like a comfortable one. It's like a breath of fresh air or the calm after a storm.

At first Quinn thought that the silence was because James was just trying to comprehend everything. However, judging from the expression on his face it appeared as if he wanted to speak but didn't know what to say. She waited patiently for him, not wanting to push or pressure his words to come out.

"That actually brings me to what I wanted to tell you," James eventually said.

Quinn leaned forward on the edge of her seat, "Of course."

"I guess I'll just come out and say it because I don't know how else to tell you…"

"Just tell me," she replied eagerly, excited to hear his news.

"I got a job offer…"

"That's great -"

"In Paris."

"Paris, Ohio?"

James laughed at her adorableness, "No….Paris, France."

"Oh my god… that's so amazing, I'm so happy for you!" Quinn screamed, as she got up from her chair and walked around to his side of the table, wrapping her hands around him and placing a kiss to his cheek. She was a little upset that he would be leaving, but maybe they could make it work long distance…if they tried hard enough. "That's so great babe…oh my god, what an incredible opportunity. You deserve it."

"That brings me to the next thing…..us."

"Oh its okay, we'll figure something out," she said, forcing a smile. "We can try the long distance thing. There's no harm in trying right? And I'll come visit you and you can come here. I mean, I love Paris…"

"Comewithme?" James blurted out, interrupting her ramblings.

"What?"

"Come with me. To France."

Quinn's hazel eyes went wide as she stared at him in shock. "What?" she repeated.

"I know that we've only been together for four months, and this sounds totally and utterly crazy, but I really feel like we have something Quinn. There is something there, and we just feel right together…."

Quinn sat in shock as she listened to him speak. She could hear what James was saying, but it felt like she wasn't able to truly comprehend each and every word. It felt like she was there physically but her mind was somewhere totally else. She shook her head slightly as she tried to regain her focus, but her mind was drawing blanks and she didn't know what to say. The words, "you're crazy," eventually spilled out of her mouth.

"I know this is asking a lot of you and I don't expect you to make a decision anytime soon, but just think about it okay. Because I really think you're the one for me Quinn, and I just…. I just want you to come with me."

She ran her hair through her blonde locks as she stared at him, trying to decipher whether he was being serious or totally just joking to get back at her earlier reveal, which had been long forgotten by now. "We can't just move to Paris together."

"Why not?"

"Why not?" she repeated incredulously. "Are you serious? We've been dating for four months," Quinn replied, holding up the number on her hand. "Four months! You haven't even met my mother yet. You didn't even know I had a daughter until 10 minutes ago. How can we move to Paris together? We don't even live together now…" They hadn't even had sex yet or told each other they loved one another. Quinn wasn't even sure if she did, that was how crazy this idea was.

"I know…but it feels like its been longer than four months. And this wouldn't mean that we would have to rush anything… we could still take it slow. We could even live in different apartments."

"My whole life is here," Quinn replied. "My family, my friends, Beth, school. Everything I've ever known is here in the United States. Do you expect me to just leave all of that behind?" she questioned, getting slightly irritated now as she thought about what exactly he was asking her to do.

"Of course not," James said gently. "I just thought I would tell you and let you think about it for a while."

Quinn exhaled deeply as she bit down on her lip. "I'm really happy for you and proud. I'm so proud that you've gotten a job offer in Paris of all places. That's so great, and you're amazing. You really are. But…"

"Just promise me you'll think about it Quinn," James said, cutting her off. "You can still go to school there…they have some pretty prestigious acting schools. You can spruce up on your French; we can eat baguettes everyday and look at the Eiffel tower. Of course, I'll get the company to sponsor flights home for us, and we can come back once every other month or something. It's an experience of a lifetime in the city of love."

Quinn sighed as she listened to James' description. It did really sound beautiful and perfect almost. But she would be away from everyone she loved: Rachel, Puck, Finn, her mother, Fran, Beth. She didn't know if she could do it; she barely made it through Beth's birthday in one piece without Puck by her side. And Rhode Island is more than just a short plane ride away if she goes to Paris. She couldn't let that be the deciding factor though. Quinn looked over at the young, blonde, blue-eyed man sitting across from her. He was starting at her with a wistful, loving expression in his eye, and she instantly felt herself smile. Maybe she could go to Paris. Maybe it would be the true fresh start she needed: a whole new life in an entirely different country.

"Okay, I'll think about it."

James grinned in response at her words as he leaned over and kissed her. "Thank you," he muttered under his breath. "Thank you…"

Xxxxx

Quinn sighed as she looked around at the tall skyscrapers surrounding her. She savoured these few minutes alone. She liked James, she really did. But he had surprised her with his France news and sprung something so unexpected that she was having trouble digesting everything. That's why she told him she would walk home. He frowned at her statement, insisting that he would take the taxi back to her apartment but Quinn had said no. She needed to think about everything immediately or her brain would go into overload mode.

She sat down on a bench and put her hands to her temple as she began to move them in circles, trying to ease away the oncoming headache. "What am I supposed to do?" she muttered under her breath.

She loved New York; it was everything she had ever imagined it would be and she loved her classes at college. Everything seemed to be going so smoothly. But with her luck, something had to happen to make her question everything. She glanced up at the dark, grey sky. The raining had eased up considerably but a few drops still fell lightly as if threatening another storm. Quinn watched single drops fall and hit the cement sidewalk, leaving little wet patches behind for only a mere second. She couldn't help but think what it would be like to pack everything up and hop on a flight to France. She would be leaving everyone behind. Well, everyone except the one person who would be sitting next to her on the plane, hands intertwined with hers.

"Is this a sign?" she wondered, still watching the raindrops steadily hit the ground.

Maybe her life was just like the single drop of rain: it makes impact for a single second and then disappears again. She had come to New York less than a year ago, but here she was thinking of leaving again.

Quinn always thought that moving to a different state would somehow erase all the pain. It would make all her mistakes and divergences seem less significant, less important. But that hadn't necessarily been the case. Those things still followed her, showing up when she least wanted them too. Maybe New York hadn't been good enough. Maybe a whole new country, a whole new continent for that matter, would give her the release she wanted. This time, it really would be a whole new life, a whole new her. She would always come back: for her family and friends; for Rachel and Finn's wedding; for Beth…. For Puck.

The thoughts, "Am I being irrational? Or am I being spontaneous? " Floated through her mind as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed the familiar number.

James picked up almost immediately, like he had been sitting near the phone waiting for her call even though it hasn't even been an hour since he broke the news.

"Well?" he asked, not even needing to say hello first.

The last thought that entered Quinn's mind before she gave an answer was…Puck.

Puck.

She would miss him the most.

She ignored it though, because that's what she always does.

"Yes…" she finally said into the phone, "I'll come to France with you."


	15. Chapter 15

**Super special thanks to ****wani, ****gleeothfriends90210cccjsdAMD****, ****cecilia, ****Written-in-hearts****, Taylor, ****joro3**** and ****finchelquick**** for reviewing! They were so thoughtful and seriously brightened my day 3 I know some of you don't care for James too much, but don't worry…. he's only mentioned in this chapter. :P Once again, thanks to everyone lending their support to this story by reading, alerting, subscribing and reviewing. I cannot believe it; I really can't 3**

Quinn sat at the kitchen table, as she slowly poured the cream into her cup of steaming coffee. She stared at the clock on the microwave, counting down the minutes until Finn and Rachel would return from their early-morning run. If she wasn't so concerned about coming up with an explanation why she was moving to France, she would probably laugh at the image of a tall Finn and petite Rachel jogging through the streets of New York in their matching workout gear. Rachel was determined to get in even better shape for some upcoming role she was auditioning for and poor Finn had been looped into the routine.

"Focus Quinn," she muttered, forcing herself to think about the situation at hand. It had been a week since she told James she would go to France with him, but she had neglected telling anyone else the news. First of all, she wanted to ensure that she was happy and confident with her decision – which she was. But second of all, she couldn't bear the thought of having to tell her closest friends and family. Quinn was excited to embark on a new adventure with James, but thinking about saying goodbye to everyone she loved made her feel sad, heartbroken even.

The clocked ticked to 9:23, and Quinn sighed knowing that Rachel would be back any minute. She knew that everyone would probably freak out over the news, and claim that it was a serious commitment for two people who had only been dating for four months. She also knew that Rachel would get overly emotional and mention something about wedding plans, and that Finn would look at her with his confused puppy-dog gaze. They would be supportive of her decision though, that much she could rely on. As far as Puck goes… well Quinn hadn't even looked that far ahead yet. Focusing on two people at a time was enough trouble.

Suddenly, the door cracked open and Finn and Rachel emerged, looking exhausted but glowing in their pre-workout state.

"Hey Quinn," Finn said smiling, as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a seat across from her.

"Hey, how was the run?"

"Oh so great! Nothing like New York at 9:00 in the morning, isn't that right hun?" Rachel interjected, giving Finn a kiss on the cheek.

"You could say think," Finn replied sweetly. The second Rachel turned away, Finn gave Quinn an exhausted look and mouthed the words "Help me!"

Quinn suppressed her laughter, knowing full well how tiring Rachel's never dwindling determination could be.

Finn shot her a smile form across the table. He couldn't help but enjoy this moment. It just felt so right and perfect, laughing with Quinn over silly inside jokes.

"You know what?" he asked.

"What?" Rachel and Quinn replied in unison.

"I was just thinking about how incredibly lucky I am. Here I am, in New York City of all places, with my beautiful fiancée and one of my best friends. I'm really lucky to have you both in my life."

Quinn felt her eyes fill up with tears at Finn's spur of the moment confession. Mainly because she was just thinking the same thing: how far her and Finn had come since freshman year. They had gone from love to hate to love and back to hate again, but now they were friends, best friends. And she wouldn't change it for the world. It made Quinn even more upset when she realized she would have to leave them behind in a couple months time.

"I love you guys, I really go," Quinn said softly, reaching across the table to grab Finn and Rachel's hands.

The three sat in silence for a moment, their hands intertwined in a circle, as they thought about their friendship and changing lives over the past year or so.

Quinn couldn't hold in the news anyone. She felt like another sweet remark about their friendship would cause her to change her mind about France. She sat up straight in her chair and leaned forward slightly, squeezing their hands in the process.

"I have something to tell you guys," she whispered.

Rachel and Finn shared a quick worried glance, their eyebrows knitting together in confusion. They both turned their gaze on Quinn, making her feel uncomfortable and even more anxious.

"What?" Rachel asked. "You're worrying me Quinn."

"Yeah, that phrase is never good," Finn added.

"Don't worry, I'm okay and everything. I just have some news… but it's good news."

"And…" Rachel said, leaning forward on her chair. "Just spit it out already."

"Well the other day James told me that he got a job offer in France," Quinn said, swallowing hard.

Rachel tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out where this was going exactly. Part of her had a really strong feeling what Quinn was about to reveal, but she didn't want to admit it to herself.

"He asked if I wanted to go," Quinn continued softly, "and I said I would."

Rachel and Finn sat wordlessly in shock. The news was surprising and unexpected, and Rachel opened her mouth to speak, only to find herself wordless: something that rarely happened to a Berry. "What?" she eventually croaked out, tears building in her eyes.

Quinn bit her lip to prevent herself from tearing up. She didn't think telling them would be this hard. She knew it would be emotional, but she never expected to feel the sudden rush of emotion that she did. A large part of her began questioning her final decision, which scared her so much that she pushed all thoughts from her mind. Forcing herself to look them both in the eye, Quinn raised her hazel green eyes. She was met with a two pairs of glossed over brown eyes, on the verge of tears. The sight alone made her start to cry, and a few wet, glossy tears fell down her face.

"I'm going to go to France with James," Quinn repeated quietly. "For a little while at least. I've already been looking at schools."

"When….when did you decided this?" Rachel asked, the tears flowing steadily down her cheeks now.

Quinn swallowed hard, trying to regain control but it didn't really help. "A week ago," she managed to say, her throat tightening. "I….I wanted to make sure I was happy with my decision, before I told anyone."

Rachel nodded across the table. "I'll miss you."

"Me too," Finn finally spoke up. "A lot."

Quinn's hand went to her heart as she listened to their words. "I'll miss you guys so much…"

"I…I just….you're one of my best friends Quinn. We've grown so close, and I ….I," Rachel hiccupped as her emotions began to overcome her; "I…don't know what I'll do without you!" she spat out as she began crying uncontrollably.

Suddenly, Quinn couldn't hold it in any longer. She felt the hot tears dribble down her face, as she reached across the table to grab Rachel and Finn's hands. Before she was even able to realize it the trio was wrapped up in a huge hug, their arms slung across one another in a powerful embrace.

Rachel pulled back after a few minutes, unsuccessfully wiping the tears away from her red-rimmed eyes. "But….how can you leave everything behind?"

Quinn sighed. "I don't know," she replied honestly, shaking her head. "I really don't know."

"Please come back and visit."

"Of course I'll come back. This doesn't take away my Maid of Honour title does it?" Quinn asked, attempting to lighten the mood. But the remark only made things worse as it caused Rachel to remember about the wedding she had managed to forget for a moment.

Rachel shook her head silently, as she pressed the palm of her hand to her mouth to stop from sobbing.

"I'll still be there every step of the way. Plus, I don't leave until mid-August, so I can set up before I start school. That gives us plenty of time to plan."

"Okay…"

"And I'm not leaving anything or anyone behind Rach," she said softly. "I'm simply starting a new chapter."

"But…but I thought this was your new chapter! I thought leaving Lima and coming to New York was your new chapter. I thought you were happy here Quinn. I just…I can't…I never expected this."

"I am happy here…"

"You're doing this for yourself right Quinn?" Finn asked, his concerned gaze meetings hers.

"What do you mean?" she asked softly.

"You're doing this because you want to, right?"

Rachel joined in, "I think Finn's making sure that you're not just going to Paris for James."

"Oh," Quinn said, unsure of how to respond. If she was being completely truthful with herself, he was apart of the reason but just a teeny tiny one. "Well…no. Not just for James, I'm doing this because…I want to see the world."

This answer didn't seem to satisfy either Finn or Rachel, because they both tightened their grip on Quinn, pulling her closer into the hug.

"Just don't forget your own advice," Rachel said softly, reminding Quinn of what she told her senior year after Finn proposed. "Don't stop pursuing your own dreams for someone else. But most importantly, don't loose yourself in the process."

Quinn just nodded in response.

"Promise me Quinn," Rachel said as she tenderly pushed a strand of blonde hair away from Quinn's face. She couldn't help but remember all the tough, sad and painful things Quinn had gone through over the years. She was a strong girl and she was better. But maybe going to France was the final remedy that she needed.

"I promise," she replied softly.

"Okay then. We better go start power-planning for the wedding," Rachel joked. "We have a lot to do."

Quinn smiled, actually grateful for more Finchel wedding talk. It would take her mind of matters for a while, and give her a chance to recoup before she told Puck.

Rachel brushed a final tear away.

"Thank you," Quinn said, looking at both of them. "Thank you for everything. I'm so lucky."

"We're pretty damn lucky too," Finn replied, as Rachel nodded in agreement. They gave each other one more tight hug, before Rachel scattered off to track down her wedding planning book; something Monica Geller would be extremely jealous of.

Finn reached out to tenderly touch Quinn's arm.

"Are you sure about this Quinn?"

Quinn looked up into his soft brown eyes, and for a second, she let herself drown in them. She remembered how comforting, dependable and reassuring Finn had always been. He had always been there for her, despite everything that had happened between them. Quinn spent so much time thinking that nobody cared about her. But that wasn't true at all. They - Rachel, Finn and Puck - had been there for her all along; she just didn't realize it.

"Yeah, I'm sure," she replied, giving him a small smile in return as she squeezed his arm.

How badly she wanted to believe her own words.

xxxx

Quinn took a deep breath as she head the phone in her hand. She had been staring at it for the last 20 minutes, willing herself to press the familiar, memorized numbers. But whenever she punched in the first few digits, her fingers froze until too much time had passed and she was forced to hang-up. She just needed to get it over with. The sooner she told Puck, the sooner the sadness would pass and she would stop questioning her decision. Or, so she told herself. She took another deep breath and pressed the numbers as quickly as possible, limiting the amount of time she had to think about it.

She had no idea how Puck would react. He would either be super supportive or extremely upset. He always pretended to be indifferent to these types of things, but Quinn knew that deep down, he really cared. He cared a lot.

The phone began to ring, and Quinn almost hoped that he wouldn't pick up, just so she wouldn't have to worry about telling him quite yet.

"Hello," Puck eventually said. His voice, though miles away, always gave Quinn a sense of comfort and familiarity. Hearing his soothing voice, immediately helped eased Quinn's sense of dread.

"Hey Puck," she breathed out, her voice slightly ragged from nerves.

"Oh Q, its you. For some reason the phone didn't show your number. What's up? Berry driving you insane from wedding plans yet?"

Quinn let out a nervous laugh, forcing herself to smile even though Puck couldn't see. Maybe pretending she was happy would at transfer over the phone. "Not really…well, not anymore than usual." In fact, she had spent the remained of the day going over floral arrangement, menu details and dress colours. But she couldn't really complain, she did kind of owe it to Rachel after how supportive she and Finn had been.

Puck laughed, "I guess that's Rachel for you."

"Haha yeah…" Quinn replied, the dread slowly returning. It's presence felt even stronger than before, it that was at all possible. "Umm are you free to talk right now? I don't want to take you away from anything important."

"Of course, I'm free. I'm always free for you Quinn….you should know that by now."

Quinn smiled, badly wishing that she was sitting beside Puck right now. She would rather have delivered the news via person instead of over the phone.

"I…ummm…I have some exciting news."

Puck felt his heart drop a little on the other end. For some reason, he had a very strong feeling that Quinn's news wasn't going to be so great for him. He prepared himself for the worst and immediately envisioned it having something to do with Hollister boy.

"What's that?" he asked, clearing his throat in the process; hoping it would erase some of the anxiety present his voice.

"James got a really exciting job offer. It's such an incredible opportunity for him, and he's worked so hard for it, and –"

"Quinn," Puck said gently, interrupting her rambling. "You know that I think James is a cool dude and everything…. But I really don't care about some job offer he got. What's really going on?"

Quinn sighed, shutting her eyes for a brief second to collect her thoughts. "The job's in France and he asked me to go with him," she blurted out quickly. "And I said yes."

She waited patiently for Puck's response on the other end of the line. Seconds ticked by so slowly that it seemed like an eternity had passed. Quinn couldn't take the silence any longer and spoke up. "Puck," she said softly.

Miles away in Rhode Island, Puck ran a hand through his short Mohawk, letting out a long sigh. He couldn't believe this. He couldn't freaking believe this. Was she really going to move halfway across the world? Had he really missed his chance? He always assumed James was temporary, but now Quinn was moving to France for him? The thought made him upset and angry and he pounded his fist down on his desk.

"You're moving to France?" he repeated back, desperately hoping that it was some kind of joke.

"Paris, to be more specific."

"Oh."

More silence.

"Please say something Puck."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why are you going?" he repeated.

"For school, for the opportunity, for…" she paused. "For James."

"You're kidding me."

"What?"

"You've got to be effing kidding me Q."

Okay, that certainly wasn't the reaction she was expecting.

"What are you talking about Puck? Why would I kid about something like this?"

"You're moving to Europe with your boyfriend of four months Quinn. Sounds like a horrible joke to be," Puck replied bitterly.

"What is your problem!" she yelled back, surprised at his rude remark. She didn't fully expect Puck to understand her choice, but she thought he would at least pretend to be happy for her. She thought that he would support her decision, just like Rachel and Finn had even if he didn't think it was the best idea in the world.

"My problem?" Puck shot back, his temper raging as his anger got the better of him. "My problem? My problem is that you're abandoning your dreams for some blonde haired Justin Bieber wannabe that you met a couple months ago. That's my problem."

"First of all, his name is James! I'm sick and tired of you insulting him all the time. And second of all, I am NOT abandoning my dreams."

"Oh please Quinn," Puck snapped back, "You mean to tell me that you're going to Paris for yourself? To do what exactly? Go on an adventure? See the Eiffel Tower?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing. I need to get out of this place."

"Out of what place? New York? That's the most ridiculous excuse I've ever heard. You went to New York to escape Lima and leave behind all the shit that weighed you down. Now you're doing the exact same thing again! Running from your problems. But what you don't realize is that you can only run for so long. Going to France isn't going to make any of your problems go away Quinn. I thought you accepted your past. I thought you came to terms with everything, but clearly not because here you are doing it all over again."

"I'm not running Puck. I left Lima because I needed too. We all needed too. New York was my dream –"

"EXACTLY! It was your dream! You're big perfect dream. You were practically in love with it! And now what? You're tossing it all away!"

"I AM NOT."

"But you are! The Quinn Fabray I knew last year wouldn't let some boy stop her from achieving her dreams. She would look at you and be disappointed. Where's the girl that stopped at nothing to get into her dream school. Where's the girl who was independent as fuck and didn't need a dude to support her? What happened to her?"

"Nothing happened to her. She's still here!" Quinn yelled back.

"Obviously she's not."

"You don't know me," Quinn shot back, tears filling up in her eyes. " You're supposed to be my friend! You're supposed to support my decisions whatever they may be…"

"For God sake's Quinn, I am your friend! Don't you realize that? I've always been here for you, no matter what. That's why I'm trying to tell you this, to snap you back into reality. Don't give up on your dreams. Don't make it seem as if you don't have a choice in this, because you do. Don't convince yourself that this is going to be some grand new path that solves everything."

"Maybe this is my new dream Puck."

"No, it's Hollister's dream –"

"STOP! STOP calling him Hollister boy! He's my boyfriend."

"Yeah, you know what Quinn… you go to France. You go with James," Puck said, enunciating his name just to piss Quinn off. "Go live out your new found dream and secure your perfect 'Fabray' approved relationship."

"That is not fair Puck –"

"You know what…fine…I'm sorry. I'm sorry I care about you too damn much to watch you get strung along for the ride. Quinn Fabray is not a follower, she is a leader. And its one of the many things that love that about her."

He paused after realizing what he basically just admitted. But he didn't really care anymore. Puck figured he might as well lay it all out on the table – again – considering that he really didn't have anything else to loose. Plus, she already knew. She had always known.

This is when Quinn really began to loose it, and the tears ran down her face uncontrollably. She was so upset that she didn't even bother wiping them away.

"Puck…" she choked out, both touched, saddened and angered by his comment. Why did he always have to do this to her? Why?

"I just hope you get whatever it is you're looking for Q."

And with that, he ended the call.


	16. Chapter 16

**Oh gosh, I wish there was a way I could express my gratitude and appreciation, but there literally are no words! Thank you so much for reading, alerting, reviewing, it means so much. Special thanks to ****Puckandquinnforever, ****wani, ****Written-in-hearts****, ****BMontague****, ****andsoitis2****, ****Jessimischa, and ****Onlythegoodieyoung. I love you all, thanks for the endless support xxx.**

*** Oh and quick reminder that only things leading up to the Season 3 Christmas episode happened in this story. Thanks again :) **

Quinn rolled over in bed, burying her face deep into her pillow as the rain poured outside. She heard Rachel knock on her door, but Quinn ignored her friend, choosing to pull her blanket over her head. She had pretty much been like this for two weeks, ever since her and Puck had their fight over the phone. Quinn had thought that not talking to him after the airport "scene" was tough but that was nothing compared to this. That wasn't even a fight, they just didn't know how to interact with each other for a while, but this? This was different. This fight was bitter and hateful and, even though Quinn didn't want to admit it, truthful. He had really opened her eyes to the impact that the decision she was making would have. And Quinn was just so confused and upset that she shut herself off from the world, preferring to lock herself in her room.

Quinn and Puck had once gone a whole year without talking and it was brutal. Because as much as they pretended and convinced themselves that they didn't care, they really did. How could they not? They had been through something so life-changing together, and the truth was that they really did care about each other. More than anyone ever realized.

Senior year, she and Puck spent a whole night talking through their issues. She explained that it hurt too much to see him after Beth was born and Puck told her he regretted not fighting for Quinn more. It was a difficult, tearful night, but after everything was out in the open, they both felt better. And they made a pact to never ignore one another again.

Quinn sighed heavily, remembering the promise they had made. She wondered if Puck remembered too. Maybe he did. But maybe he wasn't going to give in so easily this time. She wiped away a single tear that had managed to find its way down her cheek, and she could taste the saltiness on the tip of her tongue.

Quinn couldn't help but think about how much had happened in one year. Everything was different, but at the same time, it seemed like all the important things were the same: static and unchanging. She appreciated that, but couldn't help think that soon, the familiar would become unfamiliar and she would have nothing left to hold onto.

Getting out of bed, Quinn walked over to her small closest. Her first year at NYU was finished and it was nearly summertime but their apartment was still freezing cold. She rummaged around for a hoodie to wear, when a grey t-shirt fell from the top shelf landing at her feet.

Leaning over to pick it up, Quinn froze when she realized what it was: the old McKinley shirt she had "borrowed" from an unknowing Puck when she was in Lima for her father's funeral. Picking up the thin, cotton material, Quinn flipped it over in her hand and smiled. She traced her finger over the number, and inhaled the familiar scent of Puck. Pulling off her white shirt, she slipped Puck's on, and savoured the feeling of the soft fabric on her skin. It reminded her of him. Maybe too much.

Quinn pulled a hoodie on overtop of the shirt and walked back over to her bed. As she crawled in, her eye caught sight of a picture propped up on her desktop table. It was the one lone picture she had from the day Beth was born. Mercedes had taken it, and it was beautiful. Quinn was holding a newly born Beth in her arms. The tiny little bundle was wrapped in pink blankets, and she was absolutely perfect, flawless. In the picture, Quinn's eyes were locked on the tiny little girl, not quite believing that she had just given birth to a piece of perfection. But Puck was looking at Quinn, his gaze full of admiration and love. The love between the three of them was clear. It was strong and unbreakable, and anyone looking at the picture could clearly see that nothing could ever truly separate them.

Quinn hadn't really noticed until today how much the three of them looked like a family in the picture. And that's when she realized it. They didn't just look like a family. They were a family: Her, Puck, Beth. They always had been and always would be. No matter what happened, that would never change. Ever.

Rachel, Finn, Santana, Brittany, her mother, Fran, even Shelby…. they were all her family too. They had made her stronger, kept her together when she had nearly fallen apart, and gave her a place in their hearts when it felt like she didn't belong anywhere else. They made her who she was: every single one of them. They gave her a chance to live out her dreams. Her dream of NYU, her dream of acting, her dream of forgiveness, but most importantly, her dream of being loved. And she couldn't give all of that up now, even for someone as lovely as James. Plus, they could always try a long distance relationship. Sure, it would be tough but it was possible. It had been done before, and it surely could be done again.

Thinking this, Quinn grabbed her purse and car keys off the nightstand table and flung open her bedroom door. She ignored Rachel's questions as she rushed out of the apartment and ran down the apartment stairs, not bothering to wait for the elevator. The rain felt good on her skin as she jogged to the parkade and got in her red Volvo, which hadn't been driven in days. The route to his house was familiar but she couldn't stop herself from shaking. She felt bad but happy at the same time. But this time it felt like she was finally making the right decision. The decision she should have made at the beginning. Opening the door to her car, she ran to the front of his wealthy looking home and knocked loudly on the door.

"Quinn?" James asked, a confused look etched on his face as he opened the front door to find his girlfriend standing on his doorstep. "I wasn't expecting you over today."

"I know, I'm sorry, I-"

"You don't have to be sorry silly, seeing you just makes me happy. It's a good surprise."

Quinn smiled, but inside she felt nauseous, forcing her to grip onto the handrail. "Do you have some time right now? To talk?"

"Of course, anything for you," James replied, opening the door farther, letting her enter.

"What is with you?" Quinn asked jokingly, as she slipped off her ballet flats. The red rug was plush and soft under her feet. It felt like she just walked into a luxurious Manhattan hotel and that someone would be there to feed her chocolates in the evening.

"Nothing," he replied, "I'm just happy to see you." He leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek as he took off her coat, hanging it up in the foyer closet. She couldn't help but admire his town house– it was definitely clear that his family had money.

"Can I make you some tea love? Or coffee?" he asked, grabbing her hand and leading her into the bright, modern kitchen.

"I think I'm fine, thanks though," Quinn answered, taking a seat in one of the living room chairs. She instantly felt herself relax in the cushy furniture as she hugged one of the pillows tight to her chest.

She smiled up at him, before diverting her attention to the grand New York view that could be seen from the window. It was such a gorgeous sight that Quinn got lost in the beauty of it all, not quite believing that she was actually there seeing it first hand.

"Okay Quinn," James said, interrupting her thoughts as he took a seat opposite her. "I know you better than you think… and I know something's up. Spill."

Quinn sighed, almost forgetting what she came here to talk about. She ran a hand through her blonde hair and closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. When she opened them, she found James's crystal blue eyes starting at her so intently that it almost startled her. "We need to talk about Paris," she said slowly.

James only nodded, leaning forward slightly to grip her hand. "Of course. I mean, we have tons to plan, and I know it's very hectic and overwhelming but I'll take care of everything Quinn. You won't even have to worry about packing. I'll send over a professional company who will put everything in boxes and ship it straight to Paris, and –"

"That's exactly it," Quinn whispered, forcing herself to say the words that she so greatly dreaded.

"What do you mean?"

"I… I can't go to Paris with you," she said quickly. "I just can't."

There it was. The second thoughts and doubts Quinn had been experiencing ever since she agreed to go to France suddenly were lifted of her shoulders. For once in a really long time, she felt free. That was when she knew that she had made the right choice: it wasn't accompanied by the confusion she was met with last time.

James sighed, running a hand through his short, chopped hair before looking away quickly. He closed his eyes to refocus. "Quinn…" he said softly.

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry, but I can't. I can't do it," Quinn said tearfully. "I thought I would be able too, I really did. I thought I would be able to leave it all behind, but I just can't. I know that it will be amazing…. I mean, it's Paris! How could it not be amazing? It's beautiful and perfect, and it's an incredible experience, James…I'm so proud of you for getting such an amazing opportunity. You deserve it -"

"Quinn… what happened, what changed?" James asked, interrupting her. He was so confused by the sudden change in events that he wasn't able to properly process her words.

"Nothing ever really changed," Quinn replied slowly. "I just finally admitted to myself what I had been denying all along."

Noticing the confused expression on his face, she continued on, "from the moment you asked me to go, to the moment I agreed, even up to last night…it was the same feeling. I would keep telling myself that Paris would be an excellent opportunity for me. A chance for change and growth and love. It would be a grand adventure. But…. but it's not my adventure to have James. It's yours."

James sighed again as she spoke; the words leaving her lips sounded so final, so complete. He swore that Quinn could probably hear his heartbreaking at that very moment. "Quinn…"

"I'm so happy for you. And you need to go to France and show them how incredible you really are. But I can't go. Because Paris never was my dream, New York was. It always was. And I can't give it all up."

"I understand."

Despite his words of reassurance, Quinn was too flustered to really register what he said, so she kept talking quickly. The words spilled out of her mouth before she ever had time to really think about what she was saying.

"I just can't leave everyone that I love. Not yet anyway. I'm still getting used to be a few states away from home, and the idea of leaving the country scares me. The thought of leaving behind everything I know literally breaks me. And I can't leave Rachel this close to the wedding; she's one of my best friends and Finn too. And-"

"Quinn," James said, squeezing her hand in a comforting way. "I understand. You don't need to explain."

"You do?" Quinn asked, brushing away a tear. She didn't realize that she had been crying.

"Of course I do. Do you really think that I would want you to sacrifice your own dreams and happiness for my own?"

Quinn looked up at him, her green eyes sparkling with tears, amazed at how charming and respectful James was. He was a rare breed these days. He was everything that she had ever imagined her future boyfriend to be.

"I could never and would never ask you to do that Quinn. Ever. I just want you to be happy. If that's miles away from Paris and me, than so be it. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

"You're amazing."

"No, you're amazing. I was overjoyed when you said you would come to France with me, I'm not going to lie. But I knew that it was also too true good to be true. I don't expect you to leave everything behind for me. That was never my intention."

"I know…"

"I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you into anything…"

"Never James. I never felt like that. At first I was convinced that France was the answer, but then…. then my eyes were opened," Quinn said, referring to Puck. "And I realized how it would change everything. And despite all the good things that would come out of such an opportunity, I also couldn't afford to loose the good things I have now. Does that make sense?"

"Perfect sense."

"I do still like you," Quinn said, a smile emerging on her face.

"I like you too. And everything is going to work out."

"Promise?"

"Promise. We can try the whole long-distance thing, okay? We can try with me in Paris and you here in New York. We have Facebook and Skype and phone calls. I'll be back here loads and you can come visit me. We can try it."

"Okay," Quinn replied smiling even more, leaning in to kiss him. "Okay," she repeated.

He smiled into the kiss, only breaking when they both needed air. He slowly kissed from her lips, down her jaw, to the sensitive spot right below her earlobe. Quinn hummed happily from the contact, her eyes fluttering slightly.

That's when it happened. It happened so fast but so quietly that she barely even heard it. But she heard it all right. And it changed everything.

"I love you," James whispered into her ear, as he moved back to kiss her on the lips.

Quinn froze at the words and pulled back slightly.

"What?" she asked breathlessly.

"I love you."

Quinn pulled away even further, using her hands to push her up to a sitting position. Suddenly, her head, which has been clouded for weeks, became clear and the room shone a little brighter. Suddenly, the answer she had been searching for all along came to her – sharp and focused and clear.

"And I have to break up with you."

"What?" he asked, not sure if he heard her words correctly.

"I have to break-up with you."

"Wait, WHAT?" James exclaimed, standing up abruptly. "You're breaking up with me because I told you I love you?"

"No," Quinn said gently, shaking her head from side to side.

"No? Then what's the reason?"

"I'm breaking up with you because –"

"Because why Quinn?" he asked, getting slightly irrigated at the sudden change. He forced himself to take a deep, calming breath before looking back up at Quinn.

"It's okay if you don't love me yet," he continued on, his voice much softer and the edginess in his tone gone. "These things take time, but its no reason to break up over it. That's just ridiculous, please."

"It's not the reason James," Quinn said softly, standing up to face him. "It's not you."

"Oh. Well, isn't that just great?" he said somewhat sarcastically. "It's not me."

She reached down and grabbed his hand, weaving it through her fingers. "You're wonderful, you know that right?" Quinn pushed back a piece of his sandy blonde hair with her free hand before resting it tenderly on his cheek. "You are so wonderful."

"Let me guess…I'm just not for you?" he asked gently, but the sarcasm was still evident in his reply.

She shook her head no. "That's not it."

"Wait. I am it for you?" he questioned, his face looking rather puzzled as he tried to figure out what Quinn was trying to say.

"You are supposed to be for me. You're everything I've ever dreamed off. You're sweet, charming, polite, smart…. handsome. You put me before everything else, and you treat me like a Queen."

"Then... then what's the problem? I'm having trouble following you here."

"My father, if he was still alive, would have loved you. He would have approved. In another life, you would have been my happily ever after. The one I would marry and have beautiful blonde babies with. The one who would sit with my dad in his study and talk about legal work over brandy. You would be the most perfect father: the one who would teach his son how to throw a baseball and the one who would go to every single ballet rehearsal. You would be the one who would drop me off at the doors in the winter so I wouldn't get cold. In another life, you would be the one I spent my life with and the one I grew old with."

James stared as Quinn spoke, his eyes filling with pools of tears. "But…"

"But…. but that's not my life. That life ended so long ago. I used to think that it ended when I saw that little pink plus sign on the pregnancy test. But now I know that it's not when my life changed. It changed long before that. It changed when I woke up one day and realized that the life I was living was really just pretend. An illusion. That even though I appeared to have the house with the white picket fence, the quarterback boyfriend and the perfect family, they didn't really exist. In actuality, my relationship was all about popularity. And my father would spend the weekends in Chicago, while my mother and I sat at home and pretended to not know about the affair. I didn't have the perfect life everyone thought I did. So maybe if I was living the illusion: if my family was perfect and my school years were ideal, then this would be happening," Quinn said, using her finger to motion between the two of them. "Because I can honestly see it. It would be perfect and everything I dreamed of. It would be everything everyone envisioned for me. But things didn't go that way. My life took the other route; the complicated one."

"I understand…"

"I still thought that maybe we could work. Maybe everything was happening the way it was supposed to. Maybe I was finally returning to that old life. I did think that it could work. Even if you were in France and I stayed here. But hearing you say those words, those three words, clued me in. It made me realize that it was never meant to be us. It should be, yes. And it makes sense, you and me. But it's not meant to be. It feels like I'm just pretending all over again. And I can't do that to you. I can't hurt you like that," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"You never hurt me…. well…maybe a little," he joked. "But I'll get over it eventually."

"Better now than 15 years from now."

James chuckled, his voice was light and airy.

"I do love you…. but not like that."

"I know, I get it. Our paths just don't fit together."

"Yeah… that's exactly it. But it's been wonderful, and I wouldn't take it back. Not any of it."

"Me either."

"One day, fifteen years from now, we'll run into each other in the supermarket or the movie theatre. And you'll be happy, genuinely happy. And you'll have a wife that loves beyond words and a family that makes you happy. And you'll be successful, but still the same you. We'll smile and wave and maybe exchange pointless small talk. But in the end… it'll just feel right. And we'll both know that life took us where it was supposed to."

"You're right," James replied. "But you always are."

Quinn stood up from the couch and James followed suit. Without any words passing between them, he led her to the front door where she pulled back on her flats and grabbed her purse off the chair. James helped Quinn into her jacket, just like the true gentleman he was.

"Thank you for understanding," Quinn said quietly, turning to face him. "I'm sorry. I truly am."

"I'm sorry too."

They stood there for a second, facing each other silently. Something more had to be said, but neither could figure out what exactly it was.

"I hope that when I see you fifteen years from now, you'll have everything you want," Quinn finally said, a weak smile forming on her face.

"Thank you Quinn."

"Take care," she said, pressing a final kiss to his cheek. She was halfway down the driveway when she heard him say something behind her.

"Once you stop searching, I think you'll find everything you've been looking for too."

Stopping in her tracks, she turned to face him.

"You deserve the world Quinn. And nothing less. Don't forget that."

She smiled, nodded her head and mouthed the words 'thank you'.

It was a sweet and proper goodbye, but a final one nevertheless.

Quinn opened the door to her car and slid in. She slowly backed out of the driveway, but just before she drove off she allowed herself one final glance in the rearview mirror. She could see James watching her from the porch. It would probably be the last image she would have of him for a very long time. She felt the impending tears start to trickle down her face. This was the right thing to do. She had no doubt in her mind, but it sure as hell didn't make it hurt any less.

As she drove away, the tears continued to flow down her cheeks, clouding her vision. Quinn felt something that she had not felt in a while and she had been through her fair share of emotions. This was not sadness or happiness, loneliness or even the emptiness she had grown accustom too over the years. No, this was something else entirely. Relief. That's what it was. It was relief.

By now, the rain had stopped but the grey sky still loomed overhead. The rain still threatened to fall, but perhaps her tears were compensating for it. Quinn pulled up to the intersection two blocks from her apartment, stopping as the light turned red. She couldn't stop crying, so finally she gave up and let the tears come naturally. As the light turned green and Quinn slowly speed up, she caught sight of the sky in front of her. In the near distance she saw the sun trying to peak through the heavy grey clouds. It was the last thing she saw.

Because suddenly, a bright light emerged from the corner of her eye and spread across her vision, blinding Quinn from the world. She knew what was happening, but couldn't possibly brace herself for it. It all happened so fast that she wasn't able to process the screech of brakes or the shattering of glass as the other car made impact. Quinn felt a throbbing sensation in her left side, as her vision blurred and her breathing staggered.

Then the world fell silent and dark, until there was nothing.


	17. Chapter 17

**Oh my goodness, I'm sorry for not haven't updated in so long! Ugh I am so annoyed with myself for not abiding my mental schedule. I hope that you all have not abandoned this story, I promise that I haven't. I wanted to make sure that this chapter was exactly how I wanted it to be before I uploaded. There's only two or three chapters left! **

**Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read, subscribe and review, it really means the world to me. The ones from this chapter made me laugh, I promise I'm not nearly as mean as RIB :P I hope this somewhat longer chapter makes up for it. Thanks for sticking with me during this long time without an update, I really appreciate it. I hope you'll all continue to read. **

**Special thanks to ****joro3, Jessimischa****, ****Written-in-hearts, ****Cecilia, ****Shananigan, ****wani, cpfalmeida, ****LayLayandMikey1997****, ****DarkestAngel11 and the blarg anon for being so kind and lovely. And sorry for this long, rambly message….on to the story!**

Finn's heart started beating as Rachel began kissing him harder and faster. Without letting her lips leave his, she managed to drag him to the couch, pulling him down on top of her. Finn used his upper body strength to let his body hover over hers as he began placing kisses down her jawline and onto her neck. Their steamy make-out session was soon interrupted by an incoming call to Finn's cellphone.

"Ignore it," Rachel whispered, using her hand to gently pull Finn's face back to look at her. He smiled, his light brown eyes gazing deep into her dark brown ones. Letting out a quick little shrug, he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers once more. His cellphone rang again and as much as Finn wanted to ignore it, something was telling him that the call was important. He leaned back slightly to grab it, but Rachel stopped him again.

"It's nothing Finn, just leave it and let us resume what we started," she said into his ear. Finn smiled but pushed his fiancée back gently when the feeling that something was wrong returned and he just couldn't shake it.

Frowning, Rachel narrowed her eyes at Finn as he clumsily fumbled around in his leather jacket for his cell phone.

"Sorry," Finn mouthed, as he answered the call, frowning when he noticed that it was coming from the nearest hospital.

Rachel rolled her eyes and flopped back down on the couch, disappointed about their little interruption.

"Hello," he answered warily.

"Hi, is this Mr. Finn Hudson?"

"Yeah…umm, I'm Finn."

"Mr. Hudson, I'm calling from New York General Hospital."

"Wait…what?"

"We have Miss Quinn Fabray with us here… and –"

"What? What happened?" Finn interrupted, as he began pacing back and forth across the apartment.

Rachel sat up a little straighter when she noticed the alarmed tone coming across in Finn's voice.

"We have Quinn Fabray with us," the receptionist continued calmly, "and it appears that you're the last person she texted. We called her mother, but she wasn't home."

"What the hell happened? Is she okay?"

"I'm afraid Miss Fabray was hit at an intersection this afternoon. A pick-up truck ran a red-light and hit –"

"Is she okay," Finn asked again, clearly alarmed. His body tensed and his heart started beating. She couldn't be hurt. She just couldn't be. This was Quinn Fabray; his Quinn Fabray. Well maybe not HIS in that regard, but still, Quinn was like a sister to him and the thought of anything happening to her, made Finn want to vomit and pull out his own hair.

He flinched as Rachel gently laid her hand on his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"What's wrong Finn, tell me what's wrong!" she said urgently, beginning to worry that something horrible had happened.

Finn ran a hand through his brown hair and took a deep breath as he tried to process what the nurse was saying while listening to Rachel.

"I'm afraid I can't reveal that information over the phone Mr. Hudson unless you're listed as one of her emergency contacts."

"What do you mean you can't tell me? You just called me because I was the last one to text her!" he screamed into the phone, as his frustration, worry and anger got the better of him.

Rachel slapped a hand over her mouth and started to cry. She didn't need Finn to tell her what the call was about, she simply knew. She could feel it running through her veins. Quinn. Her best friend. Something had happened to Quinn.

"I'm sorry sir, but it's hospital policy. If you come to the hospital you can talk to Miss Fabray's doctor. I'm sorry."

Without uttering another word, Finn hung up the phone and turned to face a crying Rachel. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.

"It's Quinn, isn't it?" she pressed, the tears running down her face. "Oh God, it's Quinn," she repeated, gripping onto the arm of the couch.

Nodding solemnly, Finn quietly added, "She was…" he choked as he tried to get the words out, but it was just too difficult. This couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening. "She was in a car accident today

"Oh no, no no no no," Rachel muttered over and over again as she began to pace the room frantically. "This isn't happening. Not to her, not to Quinn. She's gone through enough; she doesn't need this. She's okay right? She has to be okay!"

Finn took a deep breath trying to lessen all of his emotions, "I…I don't know," he said gently. "They…" he started to speak about but soon the anger overtook him and he couldn't help but yell out of utter frustration. "They won't tell me shit," he suddenly screamed, as he knocked over the nearest chair. "How can they expect me to stay calm after news like that? They tell me she's been in an accident but they can't even – " his speaking hitched as he was hit with the full realization of what could have happened, "they can't even tell me if…. if she's…"

Rachel's sobs soon turned into hysterics as she realized that everything might not be okay. She didn't need Finn to say the final words; she knew exactly what he was thinking. Quinn was warrior and the thought that she might not be 100 per cent okay, hit her like a ton of bricks. And despite all the thoughts running through her mind, only one managed to really make it to the surface. Puck.

"Oh God, Puck. We have to tell Puck."

"Later," Finn replied, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her out of the apartment. "We'll find out if she's okay first. And then we tell him. Otherwise, he'll just flip shit and freak out." He paused shortly, looking at Rachel's mascara rimmed eyes and his own shaking hands. So much could change in so little time. "And he'll freak out more than we are," he concluded.

xxxx

Ten minutes later, Rachel and Finn were jumping out of the taxi before it came to a complete stop and bolting it inside the hospital. The bright florescent lights shone down on them and it took them a few minutes to fully register where they needed to go. Everything was happening so fast that it didn't quite feel like reality. It was more like a never-ending dream, or nightmare really, where you can vaguely recognize the setting around you but can't quite place how you know it. It was disorientating as their thoughts ran faster than their brain could process. No matter how hard they tried to will away the negative thoughts, they couldn't stop thinking about the worst possible scenario. Mainly, they couldn't stop thinking about what they would do if they somehow lost Quinn.

"I'm looking for Quinn Fabray," Finn told the receptionist eagerly as he glanced quickly from side to side, scanning the area for any trace of his blonde friend.

"What's your name sir?

"Finn Hudson. You guys called me 10 minutes ago informing me that she was in a car accident, but you refused to tell me the details of her injury. And now, here I am, standing in front of you, desperately needing to know if she is okay, but I have a very strong feeling that you are not going to tell me."

"Alright, Mr. Hudson, I'm going to ask you and your…. friend," the receptionist continued, glancing at Rachel, "to take a seat in the waiting room. I'll send out Miss Fabray's doctor to talk with you immediately."

"Are you serious right now? I can't wait around "patiently" to see if she's okay," Finn said, using air quotes to emphasize his annoyance. "I would appreciate an answer now. Right now."

"I'm sorry sir, I know you're very worried and concerned, but I'll send out the doctor immediately."

"But –"

"It's no use to get angry Finn," Rachel said softly. "It won't solve any problems or make the pain go away."

He gave the receptionist one final glare, before Rachel grabbed him gently by the arm and dragged him to the blue upholstered chair in the waiting. "We'll know soon."

At that exact moment, a doctor approached them. The gentle and soft expression on his face immediately calmed Rachel's nerves, but she couldn't say the same for Finn whose hand was still shaking in her grip.

"Hello there, I'm Doctor Smithson. You're friends of Miss Fabray I'm assuming?" he asked, as Rachel and Finn rose to meet his eye level.

"Yes, that's- " Rachel began to say, but was soon cut off by Finn's concerned, impatient voice.

"Is she okay?"

The doctor smiled, his old, weathered face brightening up for just a moment. "She's just fine."

Rachel felt herself let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding in.

"Oh thank God," Finn muttered, running a hand through his sandy brown hair.

"She's really okay?" Rachel asked again.

"Yes, I promise that she'll be just fine. Miss Fabray was t-boned at an intersection this afternoon. A vehicle travelling in the opposite direction ran a red light, and hit her on the driver's side. Luckily, the majority of impact was made in the back end of the vehicle. There will most likely be some bruising on her left hand side. We've run some tests to see if she has sustained any head injuries, but now we're just waiting for the results. Quinn will surely be sore for a few weeks, so I suggest that she take it easy. However, she should be able to go home tomorrow. We would like to keep her overnight just in case she needs pain medication or something else arises after we review the test results. Sometimes head injuries are harder to spot. We would rather play it safe. Nevertheless, your friend is completely fine. I was just in checking up on her. You're more than welcome to visit her. Room 263."

"Oh thank you…." Rachel said. "Thank you for everything."

"Not a problem ma 'me. I'll be back in an hour or so with the results, if you wouldn't mind informing Miss Fabray that I'll be stopping by again?"

"Of course not."

"Thank you. She is lucky to have such great friends, you know? I'm always amazed when I see how loving and caring the friends and family of my patients are. It makes everything about my job seem worthwhile. You're also more than welcome to call other acquaintances of Quinn and inform them of everything that's going on."

"Thank you," Finn said, finally speaking up.

"Not a problem. Just call for me if you have any other questions or concerns," he said with one last friendly wave before heading back down the hospital corridor.

The second he disappeared from sight, Rachel threw herself into Finn's arms. Even though everything was going to be okay, she couldn't stop a new set of tears from falling down her cheeks. Protectively, Finn wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest and kissing the top of her head.

"I'm just so glad that she's going to be okay," Rachel sobbed into the sleeve of his shirt, dampening the thin cotton material.

"Me too Rach…me too," Finn replied as he closed his eyes and forced away all the horrible and painful thoughts that began forming in his mind over the duration of the last hour.

"I can't imagine what….what I would do without her. She's my best friend," Rachel said, burrowing her head even farther into the nook of his arm.

"I know…she's mine too. But everything is going to be okay. Quinn is going to be okay. Shhhhh," he whispered softly, as he began to rock her back and forth to calm her down, just like a mother would do for a baby.

"I guess we should call James and tell him," Rachel sniffed, pulling away slightly so that she could look Finn in the eyes. "He probably has no idea."

"Let's go see her first. And then we can call."

Rachel nodded in agreement and grabbed Finn's hand as the two of them walked down to room number 263. She gave a quick knock to the door and slowly peeked her head inside, checking to make sure Quinn wasn't asleep. When she saw Quinn sitting up in bed reading some Nicholas Sparks book, Rachel found herself letting out a long sigh of relief.

"Oh Quinn, thank God you're okay," she practically screamed, earning an unimpressed frown from a nearby nurse. She ignored the look and walked quickly to Quinn, wrapping her arms around her friend's slender figure, careful not to put too much pressure on her recovering body.

"Hey Rach," Quinn said softly, a reassuring smile appearing on her face as she noticed her friends' concerned looks. "Hey Finn."

"Quinn," he exhaled, grabbing a hold of her hand and giving it a slight squeeze. "Don't ever worry Rachel and I like that again."

"You make it sound like I'm six," she joked, rolling her eyes at their parental nature, but still giving Finn's hand a loving squeeze.

"Good to hear that your sarcasm hasn't been injured," Rachel piped up. But secretly, she was glad to see that Quinn was her same old self. It made her feel more confident that everything really was going to be okay with her best friend.

"I'm serious Quinn, never again," Finn repeated, locking eyes with her.

"It wasn't my fault! Some jackass ran a red light. There was nothing I could do about it."

"I know, it's just….we…we were so worried that…" Finn trailed off.

"Worried about what?"

"That something terrible had happened," Rachel finished. " When we got the call, they refused to tell us anything over the phone so, of course, we automatically assumed the worst…" Rachel rambled on, the worry clearly still present in her tone of voice.

Quinn's eyes softened as she noticed both Rachel and Finn tearing up at recalling the earlier phone call. "Oh guys," she said softly, setting down her book and motioning for Rachel to grab ahold of her now free hand. "I'm so sorry. I'm completely fine. Maybe a couple bruises here and there, but nothing a little rest won't fix. I assure you." Quinn looked back up at Rachel, then at Finn, squeezing their hands once again to reassure them that she was completely fine. "I love you both so much."

"I love you too," Rachel replied, brushing a loose strand of blonde hair out of Quinn's face. "Just don't scare me like that again. Especially when you're in Paris. I need to know that you'll be safe."

"Ohhhh, about that," Quinn winced as she crinkled up her nose, preparing herself for her friends' shock when she revealed the news. "I'm not going anymore."

"WHAT?" Finn and Rachel shouted, immediately letting go of Quinn's hands.

"Why?" Rachel questioned exasperated.

"I changed my mind. I realized that…you guys were right. You were all right. About everything. It wasn't fair to myself to toss away all my dreams. Even though I'm sure it would be an incredible experience, this is where I want to be…. well, maybe not here," she joked, pointing to the hospital bed. "But here with you guys: in New York City; taking classes at NYU. This is my dream. It's my reality. I just finally realized that I couldn't leave it all behind."

"Quinn…I'm so…. I'm so proud of you," Rachel finished. "I was happy for you either way, I really was. But I knew that you belonged here. I'm happy you realized that. But what opened your eyes? I'm just curious. You seemed so set on it the other day."

Quinn smiled slightly, thinking back to re-discovering Puck's t-shirt that very morning. "Just…the memories. And realizing that leaving certain people behind, would mean that I would be leaving apart of my self behind too."

Rachel shot Quinn a quizzical look at her comment. Something was definitely up with her best friend.

Finn, however, was oblivious to the strange looks his fiancée and Quinn were exchanging. "Well, I'm just glad you're staying. Not that I wasn't excited for you before or anything, I just…I just knew I would miss you a lot." He swallowed hard, feeling the tears rise up in his throat again, as he urged himself to play it cool and regain his composure. Suddenly, his phone started ringing, snapping him out of the sudden display of emotion. Finn's clumsy fingers struggled to pull the phone out of his pocket as he quickly checked the caller I.D.

"Sorry girls…I should take this," he motioned to his phone apologetically. "I'm glad you're okay Fabray," he said, taking a moment to press a light kiss to her cheek before answering the phone and stepping out of the room.

"Stop looking at me like that," Quinn piped up as soon as Finn left.

"Like what?"

"Like I'm up to something!"

"I didn't mean to look at you a certain way…. you just seem…. happy. Which is strange considering you were just in a car accident. You must be able to at least understand my logic a little."

Quinn narrowed her eyes teasingly. "You're words are tiring me out Berry. I might have to put my head down for a while, I've got a killer headache beginning to form."

"Sorry," Rachel replied sincerely, coming over to fluff up Quinn's pillow a little. "Call me if you need anything. Finn and I will be back in a bit, okay?"

Quinn nodded sleepily as Rachel began to walk out the door, "Thanks Rach."

"No problem."

"For everything."

"That's what friends are for. You would do the same for me. Well, you have actually, numerous times."

Quinn smiled in response, "can you do me one more favour?"

Rachel peaked her head back around the hospital door, "Of course, anything."

"Can you not tell Puck about what happened? I just know he'll freak out and insist on coming over here and everything. And it's not…. it's not like I won't be out of here tomorrow. I just don't want him to worry and spend all that time and money just to see me perfectly fine and sitting up in a hospital bed."

"But… wouldn't you want to know if he was in a car accident?" Rachel asked, her brows furrowing together in confusion.

"Of course. And I will tell him soon, tomorrow probably. I promise."

Although she was still slightly confused at Quinn's choice, Rachel decided it was better not to push the topic, so she simply nodded in response. "Okay, no telling Puck. But now, you must get some sleep Fabray," Rachel replied, slowing closing the door behind her.

The click of her heels on the white washed linoleum hospital floor echoed throughout the empty hallway as she went to find Finn again and scold him for leaving so quickly. They weren't even married yet, but somehow it felt like they were already approaching their 25th anniversary.

Rachel was almost at the reception area when she was met with Finn's voice travelling through the empty corridor. She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the tone of voice he was using while talking to the person on the other end of the line.

"Nonononono," Rachel muttered under her breath as she picked up her pace, worried that she might already be too late.

"Dude, I'm telling you, she's completely fine," Finn's voice said from across the room, confirming Rachel's worries.

"NO!" Rachel yelped, earning a few stares from around the room. She ignored them as she picked up her pace and lunged, grabbing Finn by the arm.

"Tell me you didn't tell him!"

"What!" Finn asked, puzzled, covering the speaker of the phone with his hand.

"Puck. Did you…tell Puck?" Rachel asked breathlessly, as she sank down into the nearest chair.

"Hang on a second…" Finn said to Puck over the phone.

"HANG ON A SECOND? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO HANG ON A SECOND?" Puck yelled through the receiver, causing Finn to pull the cellphone away from his ear.

"Of course I told him! Why…was I not supposed to?"

"HUDSON, YOU BETTER GET BACK ON THE PHONE RIGHT THIS FUCKING SECOND," Puck continued to yell.

"No! Quinn didn't want him to freak out, which is exactly what he is now doing!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Well how the hell was I supposed to know that?"

Rachel let out a long sigh, "Well I guess it doesn't matter now. You might as well give him the details. But tell him I just spoke to Quinn and she's completely fine, just resting."

Finn nodded in agreement, before directing his attention back to Puck.

"Sorry, Rachel just needed to speak to me for a second. She said she just spoke to Quinn and she's just resting now. You don't have to worry about it Puck."

"Screw that Hudson. Quinn is my girl," the words slipped out of his mouth before he even had a chance to catch them. "Well maybe not in that sense," he continued. "But she is. And I can't just sit around when you guys are all at the hospital because she just got into a car wreck. I'm sorry, but I'm coming."

"But –"

"No buts' Finn. I'm packing a bag now and I'm getting on the soonest flight to JFK," Puck replied as he began tossing random articles of clothing into his large duffle bag. 

"Okay," Finn said, realizing there was no point in arguing with the inevitable. If Puck said he was coming, he was coming and there was no stopping it. "Call when you book your flight. I'll pick you up at the airport."

xxxx

When Quinn woke up a couple of hours later, she could feel the warmth of a hand gripping her own. Slowly opening her eyes to adjust for the bright light, she contemplated whom the hand might actually belong too. It's too big to be Rachel's and much to rough to be Finn's. When she finally opened her eyes all the way, she found Puck staring at her contently, his warm hazel eyes focused on her face. And despite her telling Rachel not to inform him about the accident, she couldn't help but feel happy and comforted knowing that he was there with her. And truth be told, she wasn't really all that surprised either.

"Hey," Puck said, looking down at Quinn as a small smile formed on his face.

"Hey stranger."

"God Quinn, I'm sorry," Puck said softly, feeling his eyes beginning to brim with tears. He had been waiting hours to say those few precious words. Ever since Finn told him about the accident, he couldn't stop thinking about all the what-ifs or could-haves. Even if Quinn was completely okay, the thought of loosing her while being angry with one another made Puck feel sick to his stomach with guilt. Here he was, making a big deal about her going to another country, but truth be told, that was better than not having her in his life at all. "I'm so sorry Q," he continued on, gripping her hand tighter without noticing it. "I never should have yelled at you about the Paris thing. I had no right to do that. I was just so upset at the thought of not seeing you every month, that I completely freaked out and –"

"Puck –"

"And if I was being a good friend, than I would have supported you, no matter what decision you made. I shouldn't have been such a jerk, I should have at least pretended to be happy for you just like Rachel and -"

"Puck –"

"When I heard about the car accident, all I could think about was how we promised never to go such a long time without talking again. And how I messed up and how I could have lost you and –"

"Puck stop!" Quinn interjected loudly, finally managing to cut him off.

Puck finally glanced up from his lap and looked Quinn in the eyes. He couldn't help but notice that her eyes were filling up with tears too.

"You were right and we both know it," she said. "The only reason why you're sitting across from me right now and apologizing is because of this stupid car accident. Otherwise, we would both be at home still pissed off at each other, believing we were right and the other person was wrong."

"I couldn't help but think how I would feel if I lost you," he whispered in return, his eyes focusing on anywhere but hers.

"I'm not going to France," Quinn said quickly, hoping that getting it over with would be better than a prolonged reveal.

"What?" Puck questioned, his eyebrows knitting together as he stared confusingly at the blonde in front of it.

"You were right Puck. About everything. I just wasn't smart enough to see it at first."

"What…what made you change your mind?" he asked, very overwhelmed with the sudden change.

"I don't really know the exact reason. But I think you're words had a lot to do with it. Because as much as I didn't want to admit it at the time, what you said was true. I was giving up my dreams for someone else's. And no matter how lovely and adventurous going to France would have been, it wouldn't have been where I truly wanted to be. Maybe it took me a little while longer to figure that out than it should have. But in the end, I just knew that leaving everything behind, even the not-so-great things, wasn't what I wanted to do. Because even though some memories still hurt and some people still upset me," she said, referring to Beth and her father, "those things still make me who I am. And you're right: I can't run from those things. I will never ever be able to. But that's okay, because maybe I don't need to. Maybe I can eventually learn to truly accept them."

Puck squeezed her hand as she spoke, encouraging Quinn to get everything off her chest. "I'm proud of you Q. You know, I don't think you realize how truly admirable you are. I may have accused you of running from your problems, but truth is, that you've conquered more obstacles than most people have. It wasn't fair of me to call you out on that. And I'm sorry. Even if I was right," Puck smirked, "which I always am of course…I still could have expressed my words a whole lot better than I did."

"Well for next time," Quinn joked shooting him a small smile in the process.

"I'm really…I'm really proud of you. And I'm happy too."

"Happy about what?"

"That you're staying here."

"Me too," she replied genuinely.

"When Finn told me you were in a car accident, I swear my heart stopped beating. I couldn't even think about what would happen if I lost you. I can't imagine my life without you in it. I know the two of us spent a year ignoring each other, but at least I still knew that you were still around. And I knew that even though we didn't talk much, I could still depend on you to always be there for me. Because you've changed me Quinn. I know you don't know it, but you have."

Quinn smiled up at him. "You've changed me too. You've taught me how to be strong. We've truly been through a lot together. But here we are, still standing."

"Here we are."

The two of them sat in a comfortable silence for awhile, before Puck spoke up again.  
>"Just promise me that you're really okay Q…You don't have to pretend to be the mighty and strong Fabray around me. I just need to know for sure."<p>

"I promise…aide from a headache and a few sore bones, I think I'll live."

"One more thing…promise me you won't scare me like that again Fabray. I couldn't afford to loose a girl like you."

Quinn felt herself blush slightly at his compliment and no matter how hard she tried to will away her flush, it just seemed to stay. "I'll try my best."

"Good. So why didn't you want me to know about the accident?" he joked, but he also was also quite curious about her response.

"I knew you would freak out. And I didn't want you to feel like you had to come here."

"Of course I would come here," he said, motioning with his free hand to hospital room around him.

"That's exactly what I mean."

"Hey now, I had to see with my own two eyes that you were okay."

"I'm a tough girl Puckerman."

"Oh I know that. Us badasses gotta stick together."

"You still didn't have to come."

"When it comes to you, I'll always be here Q. I hope you understand that."

The words made her tear up a little and she looked at him with clouded vision. "Thank you," she mouthed in response, afraid that if she actually dared to talk, the words wouldn't come out.

The two of them sat in silence again for a moment, simply trying to digest everything that had happened in the day. It felt like an eternity since the accident, even though it had only been a couple of hours. In fact, Quinn wasn't even a hundred per cent sure what time it was.

"So where's Holl – sorry…where's James?" Puck asked, suddenly remembering Quinn's "boyfriend." He sent a quick prayer to the gods that the two of them were no longer an item, but he knew that either way, he had to be supportive, especially after his most recent promise.

"We broke up," Quinn replied, giving a slight shrug of her shoulders.

"Oh…I'm sorry," Puck replied, trying his best to keep his happiness and relief disguised, but he could have sworn the beginnings of a smile were beginning to form on his face. And he couldn't do one thing to stop it.

"No you're not," Quinn joked, leaning over to punch him in the shoulder. "You didn't even like the guy."

"Hey! That's not true. He was cool and everything, just a little too umm…preppy for my personal liking."

Quinn laughed, a real, true laugh that made Puck's smile grow even wider and his heart flutter. He always loved it when he was able to make her do that. "Well…you're right with that one Puckerman."

"But in all seriousness, what happened? You broke up because of the whole France thing? Long distance relationship?"

"No," Quinn replied slowly, shaking her head slightly. "We broke –up because…because he told me he loved me." 

"Ohh…" Puck said, suddenly overwhelmed with confusion.

"And I didn't love him," Quinn finished, tearing her eyes away from the speckled print of her bedding to look Puck in the eye.

"Are you okay?" he asked warily, not wanting to rock the boat too much and push her to reveal things she didn't want to.

"Yeah," Quinn answered. "It sounds horrible, but the truth is that I don't feel sad or even disappointed. I feel…I feel bad. Guilty, even, for wasting five months of his life, when he could have been with a girl that actually felt the same way about him."

"Quinn…. you didn't waste his life. That's ridiculous. Nobody ever knows where things will lead. Sometimes it takes time for feelings to form."

"But that's exactly it. The moment I first saw him, it just didn't feel…" she paused, desperately wanting to say, "It just didn't feel like it did when I met you," but she refrained, forcing herself to bit down on her lip and clear her throat.

Puck smiled when Quinn commented about seeing James for the first time, because it brought him back to when he first met Quinn. It was sophomore year and he and Finn spotted her across the field after football practise. She was wearing that signature cheerios uniform, skirt swinging, blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. In that first glance, even though he was metres away from her, Puck knew Quinn was different. She was something more. She was something special. A rare type of girl. And of course, their first true conversation confirmed his thoughts even more. The shake of her head at a stupid joke, the way she bit her lip when she was nervous, the way her fingers tousled her own hair. She was perfect and he immediately knew that they would be something, whatever that something was. And now, here they were, four, almost five years later, best friends after a baby, an adoption, a spout of depression and nearly failing high school. Yup, he was right about one thing: him and Quinn were certainly something special.

Puck suddenly snapped back to reality when he heard Quinn clear her throat. The thoughts of the past and days of old, drifted back into his mind as he looked into her hazel-green eyes now. He felt bad for Quinn after she revealed her feelings. He also felt bad for James, he knows how difficult it is to get a girl like Quinn and keep her close. But he also knew that the two of them would never last. Mainly because Quinn always went for the picture perfect boy and it never really lasted.

"I think deep down I knew from the beginning that nothing would come of it," Quinn said, rewording her thoughts around as to not reveal too much to Puck.

"Don't beat yourself up too much Fabray, sometimes we just don't know how things will work out."

"I know…it's just…I always go for the guy that I think I'm supposed to be with," Quinn continued on. "The boy with the All-American looks, the charming manners, the impressive schooling degree. The boy my father would have talked about the economy with over scotch after dinner. I always try to convince myself that it can lead to love. True love. But each time, it feels like I have to search for it's presence and force myself to feel that way. I don't want pretend love, I want real love."

"Maybe real love isn't perfect," Puck replied, as he looked Quinn in the eye. He studied the way the brown specks in her eyes blended seamlessly with the green, the way her blonde hair shone when she turned her head quickly and how her cheeks flushed a rosy pink. He committed every detail to memory.

"When did you get so wise?"

"I've always been wise, you just haven't noticed it."

At that moment, they both looked down and realized that their hands were still interlaced. Neither of them had noticed it, maybe because they were so involved in apologizing or maybe because it just felt right. Either way, t was a gentle reminder of all the things they shared together and all the things they still had to look forward too.

Simultaneously, the both gave each other's hand a squeeze. After all, they had always been in it together, and they always would be.


	18. Chapter 18

**I honestly cannot thank you guys enough for all the support you have given me. I am sorry for the extremely late update! I hate getting such off track like that, but I really wanted to ensure that I wrote this chapter as I had imagined it. I toyed with several ideas, but hopefully you like the end result and will continue to read it :) **

**I literally cannot describe how truly grateful I am to have people read, review and alert this story. Thank you to everyone who has stuck by this story during this extremely long break. Very special thanks to **Written-in-hearts, wani, gymgurl26, BEYONCE FAN51, andsoitis2, miss agron, Shananigan, LayLayandMikey1997, Jessica, littleredwritinggleek, Cami, SparksFly3737 and Guest for the reviews :) Love you all and thanks again!

It had been two weeks since the car accident, and despite Quinn's constant reassurances, Puck, Finn and Rachel had refused to stop fussing over her. Every morning, Rachel would come knocking on her bedroom door with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. Every time Finn visited, he would constantly offer to fetch her extra pillows for her back or aspirin for her headache. She almost had to resort to doing cartwheels across the apartment just to prove to him that she was fine. Puck, on the other hand, was slightly subtler about his approach. He had insisted on spending the rest of the summer in New York before school started back up. He had flew back to Rhode Island a few days after Quinn was released from the hospital, and almost immediately hopped in his truck to journey back. He claimed it was just a vacation and a good excuse to hang out with his friends, but almost everyone knew that he was doing it for Quinn. It was obvious to just about everyone, everyone but Quinn that is, how deeply he cared for her. You could tell just by looking at him that he was reluctant to leave her side. This was only affirmed by the fact that they spent nearly every free moment with one another.

"How about this one?" Puck asked, using the red pen to circle one of the apartment ads in the newspaper.

Quinn sighed heavily, tired of the constant searching. Puck had been helping her apartment hunt for a week, and so far, the two of them had found nothing but dumps and overpriced condos. Not a surprise considering that this was New York but something promising would be nice for once. She leaned over his shoulder, her blonde hair tickling his cheek and her light, floral scent sweeping over him, as she scanned the listing.

"It looks great," she remarked.

"Really?" Puck questioned, more than pleased with himself for finally finding something Quinn approved off.

"Perfect, I mean, who wouldn't want a 60 year-old roommate who smokes," she replied, using her perfectly shaped nail to point to the part of the ad Puck had neglected to notice.

He snapped the newspaper shut out of frustration. "I don't get why you have to find a new apartment to begin with…can't you just live with Finn and Rachel?"

"Sure…it'll be just like _Three's Company_," Quinn responded dryly.

"Minus the whole "gay" thing," Puck smirked. "But…on the other hand, who says that has to be sacrificed. I personally think that you and Berry would be one hot couple."

Quinn shot him a disgusted look but couldn't help a smile from appearing on her lips. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but the people on _Three's Company_ weren't gay."

"What? I thought the dude and the two chicks were like a threesome."

Quinn chuckled and rolled her eyes, before flopping back down on the loveseat, a long sigh escaping her lips.

"Who knew apartment searching could be so stressful?" she commented, changing the subject before Puck became too disappointed over the latest television revelation.

"Relax Q…you still have practically a whole year before Finchel ties the knot. You have plenty of time to get your own place."

"But I already feel like I'm imposing on their privacy or something, and he hasn't even moved in yet," Quinn said, referring to their new living arrangement. As of next week, Finn would be moving in with Rachel. And even though the two of them were adamant that Quinn stay put, she just didn't feel right about it. It felt like the two of them needed their own space, especially since they were about to make a giant step together.

"Finn's the one who is moving into your and Rachel's apartment!"

"I know…"

"I don't understand why the two of them just didn't move into the same place when you guys moved to New York…it makes way more sense then doing all of this now."

"Tell me about it," Quinn agreed. "But Rachel wanted to take it slow, one step at a time. I believe the word she used was 'traditional'."

"'Traditional?' Puck repeated, laughing. "Berry and 'traditional' do not belong together in the same sentence. This is coming from the girl who has two gay dads, sang a religious song dressed as a nun and once sold her underwear to Jacob sophomore year so that he wouldn't tell the school you were pregnant. Yup, sounds traditional to me."

Quinn laughed as she reached over and punched him in the arm. "Play nice," she joked.

"Oh come on Q, I know you agree!" he said, as he punched her back playfully.

Soon, their little play fight turned into a fit of giggles as Puck began tickling her.

"Stop Puck!" she half-screeched, half-laughed, as Puck continued to tease her in the most ticklish places. He leaned over her body, placing his hands on the arms of the couch to support himself, as he purposefully trapped her beneath him.

"There's no escaping now!" he retaliated, moving one hand down to her hips as the other reached up to trap her arms from flailing, holding her captive.

"I'm going to pee my pants Puckerman! I'm not even joking. There will be pee on you pretty soon."

"Ehhh…whatever," he commented, laughing as he watched her squirm uncomfortably beneath him.

Suddenly the phone rang, causing Quinn to sit up abruptly, nearly resulting in a head collision between her and Puck.

"Will you let me get this?" Quinn grinned, stretching her body across his in order to reach the phone.

"Hello?" she said, picking up the receiver and crawling over Puck to sit on the chair. He gulped as her body snaked over his, overcome with this sudden urge to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her close.

"Quinn…. it's Shelby," said the voice on the other end.

"Oh, hey Shelby" Quinn replied, surprised at the somewhat random call. "Is everything okay?" she asked, immediately afraid that something had happened to Beth. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as Puck sat up in his seat too.

"Ohh, of course, everything is fine! But I was just on the phone with Rachel and she mentioned that you were in a car accident two weeks ago. I was calling to check in and make sure you were okay."

Quinn let out the breath she had been holding in, shooting a relieved look over to Puck, who immediately sank back into the couch. "Oh I appreciate you calling, I'm fine now. I was a little sore a few days following the accident, but nothing too major. I'm lucky that all I got were a couple of bruises and a headache."

"Still…car accidents are scary," Shelby responded. "I remember my first crash, it was right after I gave birth to Rachel. I was shaken up for days; I kept thinking what would have happened had I still been pregnant with her. Luckily that wasn't the case, but your mind immediately goes to the worst case scenario."

Quinn let out a shaky breath of air as a few images from that day flashed through her mind. Even though it was her imagination, the sound of glass shattering and tires screeching felt so real, so vivid. "I still can't stop myself from thinking about it, especially at night."

"It'll fade eventually. I promise," Shelby said, her soothing and motherly voice instantly calmed Quinn and she could feel her breathing return to normal. "I'm just glad your okay."

"Thank you again for calling, I really appreciate it."

"I care about you Quinn. We're family, as screwed up as we may be, and I can't imagine anything happening to you or Puck."

Quinn fought back the tears at Shelby's words, and she could feel Puck's gaze on her as he watched her converse on the phone. "That really means so much to me…to us," she said, correcting herself quickly.

"Which actually brings me to my next point…I'm going to be in New York next weekend for a business thing and I was wondering if you and Puck would be able to babysit Beth for a few hours. You don't have to if you -"

"No, we'd love to!" Quinn interjected excitedly. "That would be so fantastic, and I can't think of anything we would love better," she continued on, the happiness clearly evident in her voice.

"Perfect! I've actually got to head off to work, but I'll call or email you with the details later today."

"Thank you so much Shelby."

"Anytime. Take it easy on yourself and I'll see you in a couple of days."

Quinn beamed at the phone as if Shelby could somehow magically see her from miles away.

"What was that all about?" Puck questioned as soon as Quinn hung up the phone.

"Shelby was just checking up on me, Rachel told her about the car accident…and she was wondering if the two of us wanted to babysit Beth next week?" Quinn said quickly, unable to keep the news to herself for much longer. "She'll be in New York for some business meeting and needs someone to watch her for a few hours."

Puck couldn't help but break out into a huge grin at the thought of seeing his daughter. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Quinn grinned back, almost jumping up and down in her seat from excitement.

You said yes right?"

"Of course I said yes Puckerman!" Quinn replied rolling her eyes in a joking matter.

"I'm just making sure."

"Did you seriously think I would pass up the chance to see my daughter? It's been over a year," she continued on, her expression suddenly growing more solemn at the thought of her stupidity during senior year.

Puck noticed her sudden change in expression and instantly added, "Well I'm just happy that she's giving us a second chance…After all, the two of us are some pretty incredible babysitters." He shot her one of his charming smiles and Quinn couldn't help but return it.

She couldn't believe it. In just a matter of days, her and Puck would be reunited with their daughter. Their Beth. Their perfect thing.

xxxxxxxx

"What if she hates me? What if she won't stop crying when Shelby leaves…just like she did the first time I saw her…."? Quinn rambled on nervously, biting her lip out of concern. The two of them were in Puck's truck on their way to Shelby's hotel.

"Don't be ridiculous Q…she's going to love you. She does love you."

"But last time-"

"Every child cries when their mo-" he stopped himself short, quickly realizing how those words had a high chance of hurting the blonde sitting next to him.

"It's okay Puck," Quinn replied, looking away quickly so that he wouldn't be able to see the tears building up in her eyes. "I know I'm not her mother anymore… You can say it…every child cries when her mother leaves," she said, finishing the sentence for him.

"That's not what I meant Q," he replied softly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not her mom," she repeated, sighing as she leaned her head back against the headrest. "As much as that hurts to admit it out load, it's the truth."

"Maybe you're not her mom," Puck replied carefully. "But you're still her mother. And that doesn't change how much you love her."

Quinn gave him a weak smile, "Sometimes I wonder what I would've been like as a mom."

"Pretty fan-freaking fantastic," Puck said, looking over at her and smiling.

"I'm not so sure…especially considering that the main mother figure in my life during high school was Coach Sylvester."

Puck chuckled. "Well, you've got a point there…she's not the warmest person in the world. But honestly Q, I don't think you realize how motherly you are."

"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyebrows knitting together as she pondered his words.

"I see it in you everyday…we all do…these little things you do for the people you care about. Who else would pick the lint of Kurt's jacket before his NYADA audition? Who would voluntarily get up at five in the morning to print off Finn's school report after his printer broke? Or buy Rachel dinner after she scored that acting gig? You are a mom Quinn, in more ways than one. And I know that you will do all of those things, and so much more, for Beth. That alone just shows how much you love her. In the end, that's all that really matters…the love you have for her, not the label you're given."

"Puck," Quinn said softly, "that really means a lot to me, thank you."

"Hey, I just tell the truth."

Quinn smiled, but she couldn't help but think how mature Puck had grown over the last year. The former, hotshot, womanizing quarterback had turn into someone she could constantly rely on to make her feel better. Sure, he still had his "Puckzilla" moments, but she couldn't express how grateful she truly was for the guy sitting next to her.

"Well…here we are," Puck said, pulling Quinn out of her thoughts as she looked around at the hotel in front of her. "Seriously," Quinn thought to herself as she ogled the beautiful, five-star, Grand Hyatt hotel, "Shelby must be making big bucks now if she can afford to stay here."

Puck seemed equally as impressed as he handed his keys over to the Valet services.

As Quinn stepped out of the car, she smoothed down her simple yellow dress and fluffed up her hair, ensuring that her presence was nothing short of perfect. After everything that had happened between her and Shelby, she was determined to make sure everything went well this time, right down to the last detail.

As she followed Puck up the steps of the hotel and into the elaborate lobby, Quinn couldn't help let out a shaky breath of nerves. Even though she bursting with excitement at seeing her daughter again, the thought of Beth hating her still lingered heavily in her mind. It was a feeling she had been experiencing for the last few months, and the thought of her nightmares finally being confirmed or denied, scared the shit out of her.

Quinn bit down on her lip out of nervous habit as her and Puck entered the elevator and pressed the button for floor number 14. She could feel her hands shaking and clenched them into a fist, desperate to calm herself down. After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator finally dinged and opened, revealing an equally beautiful floor. Together, the two of them followed the posted signs to the room number Shelby had given them in her email: 1495. Stepping forward, Puck gave a knock to the door, feeling his stomach tighten in anticipation.

Wordlessly, Puck grabbed Quinn's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. And for the first time that day, she realized that this was probably just as difficult for him too. It was the first time he was seeing his daughter in months. A wave of guilt flashed through Quinn for neglecting to ask him how he was dealing with it all. Nevertheless, the presence of his hand in hers immediately made her feel better.

Suddenly, the hotel room door opened to reveal Shelby standing on the other side. Her long brown hair was swept up into an elegant bun and she was dressed in a short black evening dress.

"Hi you two," she exclaimed, immediately giving Quinn a hug and Puck a handshake. If she hadn't been so nervous, Quinn might have allowed herself to laugh at the awkwardness of the situation.

"Hi," Quinn repeated, unable to keep the smile off her face despite her worries.

Puck gave a friendly nod in Shelby's general direction.

"Oh sorry, come on in," she said, opening the door wider to reveal a large suite. "The company's paying for my trip," she said, indicating towards the couch and television. Which functioned as a mini-living room. "When I said I was bringing my daughter, they insisted on booking me a suite. I'm not complaining though," she quickly added, "this has to be the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in."

"It's gorgeous," Quinn replied, as she stepped inside the room and looked around. The interior décor looked like something Victoria Beckham would have in her house. She was about to comment more on the hotel, when she noticed a head of blonde hair peaking out from behind Shelby's leg.

Quinn held her breath, as the brunette reached down and lifted up Beth. "What are you hiding down there for, you little munchkin?" Shelby asked in a playful tone as she nuzzled her face in the girl's thick and wavy blonde hair.

Both Quinn and Puck stared in wonderment as the little girl glanced up at them through her thick black eyelashes. Puck couldn't help but notice that she had the same soft but striking hazel eyes as Quinn. The same eyes that never failed to show him her ever emotion. The same eyes that he had fell in love with.

"Hi," Quinn said breathlessly.

"Beth, this is your Auntie Quinn and Uncle Puck."

Beth shot them a lopsided grin, Puck's grin, as she looked up at them again, a slight smile breaking out on her tiny rosy lips.

"Hi," she said, looking up at them intently; Quinn immediately felt her heart melt. "I'm Beth," the little girl said, pointing to herself.

"I'm Quinn," the blonde replied, repeating Beth's motions and pointing at herself. "And that's Puck," Quinn grinned, pointing to Puck.

A puzzled look crossed Beth's face as she considered this new information and the strange new people standing in front of her. "Uck," she repeated, not quite able to say Puck's name. She looked up at Quinn for approval.

The three of them – Shelby, Puck and Quinn, all let out a little chuckle.

"That's right Bee," Quinn said softly, a smile spreading across her face. "Uck…. I think I sense a new nickname," she teased.

"Just you three have permission to use it," Puck joked in a warning manner. "Don't go telling Hudson, or I won't here the end of it."

"Oh don't worry, I have a lot worse on Finn," Shelby commented.

Both Quinn and Puck looked at her surprised extremely intrigued about what kind of leverage Shelby had over Finn.

"Another time," Shelby replied, sensing their curiosity, before turning her attention back to Beth. "Mommy has to go out for a bit, but you're going to have lots of fun here with Uck," Shelby told her daughter softly, before leaning over and pressing another kiss to her cheek.

Slowly, Shelby shifted her weight and handed Beth over to Quinn's awaiting arms. She braced herself for screams and tears as the three year old was taken from her mom, but surprisingly, neither happened. Quinn couldn't stop the biggest grin from breaking out on her face. As strange as it sounded, she felt whole, complete again. And even though she knew perfectly well that it would be over within a few hours, it was okay. Because she knew that this was just the first of many moments for the three of them. She wanted to commit every single detail of this moment to her memory: the sunshine peering through the window, the sweet smell of Beth's baby shampoo, the grin that Puck was shooting at her.

"I should run," Shelby said, drawing Quinn out of her thought and forcing Puck to look away from Quinn and Beth. "My number is on the coffee table if you need anything, Beth's food is in the fridge, and…. oh, she usually takes a bath before bed time. Make yourself at home, and don't hesitate to call room service for your dinner," she rambled off as she grabbed her jacket out of the closet.

"I'll be back around 10:30 ish." She leaned over to give Quinn a quick peck on the check and rested her hand heavily on Puck's shoulder. "Thank you both so much for watching her!" And then, with a quiet click of the door, she was gone.

A silence fell over Puck and Quinn as Shelby left. Both tensed, waiting for Beth to fuss or cry, but when neither happened after a few moments, they felt themselves relax and let out a breath of relief. Beth giggled slightly, causing both Puck and Quinn to giggle too.

"Do you want to hold her?" Quinn asked softly, looking down at the mini version of her in her arms.

Puck nodded excitedly before holding his arms out. "Come here monkey face."

Beth continued repeating "Uck" under her breath as she landed in Puck's arms.

"Woah you're a lot heavier than you were the last time I held you," he remarked, looking up at Quinn with wide eyes.

She let out a bit of a chuckle at Puck's expression, watching as he danced around the room with Beth in his arms.

"I like dancing!" Beth giggled excitedly.

Quinn couldn't help but think what the guys would say if they saw Puckerman acting like this. However, she found it completely charming.

Soon, Beth began to squirm in his arms, and Puck gently put her down, watching as she walked over to a cluster of stuffed animals on the floor,

"Are those your toys Bee?" Quinn asked, taking a seat on the floor next to Beth, who continued to speak incoherently to herself. "Hey, who's this?" Quinn asked, picking up a stuffed green frog.

"It's frog," Beth replied as if it was common sense. "It goes ribbit," she said while grinning.

Quinn began to make ribbit sounds as she "bounced" the frog around Beth, before placing it on her head. Beth exploded in a fit of giggles, before grabbing the stuffed animal and putting it on Quinn's head.

Meanwhile, Puck watched from the couch, not wanting to disturb the playful scene between the two girls. If he were being completely honest with himself, the whole thing made Puck love Quinn a little more than he already did. Noticing a familiar stuffed animal on the ground, he slid over to the rest of his family, plunking himself down on the other side of Beth.

"Hey Q..." he began, picking up the stuffed animal. "Isn't this the same one you have?" he asked, holding up a tiny but fluffy stuffed lamb.

Quinn looked up, and her jaw dropped when she saw what Puck was holding. "Oh my gosh…" she said in awe, reaching out and taking the small stuffed animal from Puck. "I gave this to Shelby senior year…" she explained. "I wanted Beth to have something that reminded her of me…even if she had no idea who I was. But Shelby was so mad for what I had done," Quinn added in, "that I assumed she threw it away or something."

"Doesn't look like it," Puck grinned, watching as Beth lunged for the small white animal.

"My lambie," she said, clutching it to her chest.

"Looks like she's had a piece of you all along Q." He gave her a side hug and watched as her face lit up with the realization.

Beth pushed a bunch of her stuffed animals towards Puck and Quinn, "Let's play more!"

Grinning at each other, the two of them picked up a few stuffed animals and began putting them into little skits….

Forty-five minutes later, Puck and Quinn still found themselves performing plays for Beth with all her stuffed animals. Every time they finished one story, Beth would look up at them with her big hazel eyes and ask for more. They both were unable to resist the "Fabray charm", which Puck had adequately labeled it. In fact, the two of them had gotten quite creative with plot lines and character stories. Each story got more and more sporadic as the stuffed animals adapted accents and strange magical powers. Quinn burst out into laughter as Puck gave Beth's teddy bear an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice, and almost peed her pants.

"Okay, I think it's time for a break," Quinn said, in between her laughs.

"Food time?" Beth asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I think that's a great idea monkey," Puck said, still smiling.

Puck and Quinn both grinned at each other from across the room, Quinn shaking her head softly at Puck's antics. Neither had felt so completely and utterly happy in such a long time. And in that moment, both realized who their true family was.

xxxxx

At 10:44, Shelby opened the door to her hotel to find Puck and Quinn fighting over the last few pieces of chocolate cake with their forks. They both looked up when she came in, and even though they looked slightly exhausted, their faces were glowing with happiness. She smiled and shook her head, "You could've ordered two desserts."

"It's more fun to torture Puck with one," Quinn replied, popping the last bite in her mouth when he wasn't paying attention.

"Hey!" he remarked, shaking his head. "How was your business thing?" he asked Shelby, turning his attention back to the brunette.

"Good," she nodded. "A little boring at times, but that can never be helped. How were things here?"

"Great!" Puck and Quinn replied in unison, earning a laugh from Shelby.

"She's asleep now," Quinn said, motioning towards the bed with her head.

"Thank you, I'm glad everything went so well." Shelby reached into her wallet and pulled out a few bills, thrusting them towards Quinn.

"Oh no," Quinn said, holding her hands out and jumping back slightly. "We can't accept that."

"But you're my babysitters," she protested, reaching out with the money again.

"I would pay you to babysit Beth," Quinn replied. "Seriously, it's a pleasure for us. Thank you so much for giving us another chance. It's…a dream come true. I can't thank you enough Shelby. If anything, we owe you money, for the room service." She grabbed her purse off the chair and began to rummage through it, but Shelby's hand stopped her.

Shelby smiled at the pair of them and shook her head firmly. "Let's just call it even, we'll do it again soon."

"Thank you," Puck said, and Quinn echoed his response.

"We should get going," Puck said slowly, "let you catch up on some sleep Shelby."

Quinn nodded her head in agreement, "Do you mind if I use the washroom quickly before we leave?" she asked Shelby.

"Of course not," Shelby replied.

Both her and Puck watched as the blonde walked away, leaving them sitting there in an awkward silence. It had been a while since the two of them were left alone together. Actually, the last time they weren't in the presence of other people, Puck was still in high school and Shelby was his teacher – talk about uncomfortable. Puck cleared his throat, trying to ease some of the tension in the room, but it only seemed to build it up even further.

Finally, after a few very long seconds of silence, Shelby spoke up. "You love her, don't you?

Puck looked down at the ground, before letting his eyes make contact with the soft brown ones belonging to the women who sat across from him.

"Yeah," he replied softy.

"I could always tell…the day Beth was born, when you came over to babysit Beth, even when you were crushing on me…I could always see it in your eyes, how much you cared for her."

"I've never…" he stopped, unsure if he should continue on. It felt a little awkward, talking about this with a previous love interest, but Shelby was also so much more than that, and he got this strange sensation that she understood what he was feeling. "I've never felt about a girl the way I feel about Q," he finished.

She gave an understanding nod in return. "You know…there are some people in this world who are just meant to be together. And when other people look at them, they can just tell that they're meant to be. That despite everything they've been though, together and apart, they'll end up together."

"Soul mates," Puck whispered under his breath.

"Soul mates," Shelby repeated softly. "You and Quinn…." she gave a thoughtful pause before carrying on, "you're one of those couples. I just look at you two and I know."

Puck shook his head slightly before looking back up into her eyes, "She's my soul mate, but I don't think I'm hers."

Shelby gave him a small smile, "Belonging **with** someone is one thing, but belonging** to** someone…. well that's something that never changes. Quinn's lost a lot of things in her life…she just doesn't want to loose you too."

Puck was just about to respond, but was stopped short when Quinn returned.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked, pulling on her cardigan over her summer dress.

"Yeah," Puck replied quietly, standing up and going over to join Quinn.

Shelby got up as well and followed them to the door, "Thank you both so much, I really appreciate it." She leaned in and gave Quinn a hug, pleasantly surprising the young women. However, it surprised Puck even more when she went to do the same to him.

"Never give up on what's worth fighting for," she whispered in his ear, leaving Puck with a very confused expression on his face as she pulled away from the hug.

"Thank you Shelby…for everything," Quinn began to say, causing Puck to fall out of his thoughts. "Tonight was so incredible, and I…I'm just so lucky that you were willing to give me a second chance. You are an incredible mother."

Puck watched as Shelby's eyes filled up with tears at the compliment. But if he was being completely honest, the whole exchange made him feel a bit emotional as well.

"Thank you," Puck said sincerely, locking eyes with Shelby, trying to communicate with his eyes how much he appreciated her forgiveness, the visit, and her wise advice, even if he was still trying to decipher it in his mind. "It's been an incredible night."

"Anytime, you two. Make sure we stay in touch, okay?" Shelby said, her gentle tone immediately setting the two at ease about future visits. "Drive home safely."

Xxxxx

Puck couldn't stop thinking about what Shelby had said to him as he drove Quinn back to her apartment. _Belonging to someone is something that never changes. _What does that mean?" he wondered. The thought of it made his head hurt. He couldn't overthink things anymore. He loved Quinn, he always had. And he knew, that no matter what happened, he always would love her. She was different than other girls: she understood him, she believed in him. But most of all, she would tell him off and call him out when no one else would. He glanced sideways at her. "God, she is so beautiful," he thought to himself.

"Are you okay?" Quinn asked him, as they pulled up to a parking spot a block or so away from her apartment. "You've been awfully quite on the way home…"

"Huh?... Oh yeah, I'm fine," he said, giving her a quick smile. "Just thinking about tonight and Beth and…."he trailed off. He wanted to say that he was thinking about her but forced himself to retain that bit of information.

"It was pretty amazing, wasn't it?" Quinn said. She still wasn't able to keep the smile off her face.

"It really was." He found himself grinning back at her with equal enthusiasm.

"It just felt right…being together, you and me and Beth. You were right." Quinn looked up at him, her eyes piercing and vibrant. "The three of us will always be something…a family. We'll always be a family," she repeated.

"Always."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, listening to the faint music coming from the radio. "Come on, I'll walk you to your door," Puck said eventually, getting out of the car and walking to the other side to hold open the door for Quinn.

The two of them walked back to her apartment hand in hand. The street lamps shone brightly in the dark New York night sky and a few drops of rain had begun to fall from the sky. Quinn sucked in a large breath of fresh air as they approached the lobby to her apartment building.

"I'll see you tomorrow probably," Puck said, leaning over and giving her a quick peck on the cheek. His lips lingered for a mere second, desperately wanting more, but he forced himself to pull back.

"Good night," she said softly.

"Sweet dreams Q."

He started to walk away when her voice stopped him.

"Thank you."

He turned around to face her again. Her blonde hair shone brilliantly under the building's lights as she looked at him intently.

"For what?"

"For never leaving my side," she answered. "Ever."

And with that, she opened the door to her apartment building and disappeared into the shadows, leaving Puck with his thoughts once again.

He continued to walk back to his truck, thinking once again about what Shelby had said and how deep his feeling for Quinn really were. He had only gotten a few feet when he remembered what Shelby had told him when he left the hotel.

"Never give up on what's worth fighting for," he mumbled under his breath.

Suddenly, he was running back to Quinn's apartment, nearly tripping over the steps as he burst inside. She was still waiting for the incredibly slow elevator as he entered but immediately turned at the sound of the door swinging open.

"Puck…" she began, her voice edged with confusion, but he cut her off.

"I love you."

She stared at him, her hazel eyes darkening as he spoke.

"I love you Quinn, so damn much that I don't know what to do about it anymore," he yelled, probably waking up half the building.

Quinn continued to stay silent as Puck took another step towards her.

"From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were different. From the moment you said hello, I knew that I was falling in love with. And once I started, I just couldn't stop."

Her eyes began to fill up with tears as he admitted his feelings towards her.

"There were so many times when I wished I could stop. When I wished that I didn't love you so damn much, because then it wouldn't hurt so damn much. It hurt watching you love someone else, it hurt knowing we couldn't be together, it hurt when we ignored each other for a year after she was born."

Quinn bit her lip and he could see the tears trickle down her cheeks.

"Rachel, Lauren, Shelby…I didn't love them!" Puck admitted, his voice becoming slightly choked up from all the emotion. "I thought that if I could learn to love them then I would stop loving you. But that never worked. Because I've always loved you Q, and I probably always will." As the words slipped out of his mouth, he suddenly realized what Shelby had meant by belonging to someone. Quinn would always have a piece of his heart, and that would always make her, his.

Quinn was full out crying now, her mascara streaked down the side of her face, her hair pressed to her forehead. She swiped her hand furiously across her face, trying to wipe away the tears.

"You get me Q. And I get you. And…and I know I've told you all of this before, but I just can't give up. I know I don't deserve you, but just give me a chance," he croaked out.

"Say something," he pleaded, after a few minutes of silence.

"I can't," Quinn said, the words getting caught in her throat. "We can't," she muttered quietly under her breath, shaking her head slightly from side to side. "We can't." she repeated, looking up at him this time.

Puck stared at her, frustrated that he revealed his emotions and got nothing back in return. He was sick and tired of putting himself out there, only to be shot down, time and time again.

"Why not?" he asked, looking at her defiantly, forcing Quinn to make eye contact with him.

Out of habit, Quinn bit down on her lip and took a long sigh as she glanced around the room. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair as she began pacing the lobby.

"You know why," she said softly.

"You know what Q?!" Puck asked, his voice getting slightly louder. "I don't know why. I don't know why we can't be together, because I know you feel it too Q…whatever it is that exists between us," he commented, waving a hand between the two of them. "Call it whatever you want – history, chemistry, opposites attracting - I don't care…it's something, whatever it is. Something that makes me go weak in the knees whenever I see you smile, something that makes me want to grab your hand whenever we're walking down the street together, something that draws me towards you in a room full of people. And I know you must feel this way too... So, to answer your question…I don't know why!" he yelled, his voice going higher and louder than intended. "I don't know why you always pull away from me – from us."

"BECAUSE IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THIS WAY," Quinn snapped, turning around quickly to face him once again. "I'm not supposed to end up with the guy who knocked me up in high school! I'm supposed to hate you; I'm supposed to want to forget about you. Don't you understand!?"

"Is that all I am to you Quinn?" Puck asked bitterly, his voice taking on an eerily quite tone. "The guy who knocked you up sophomore year," he spit out, his anger clearly evident.

"You know that's not what I meant," Quinn said, much more softly. "You know I didn't mean –"

"You know what Quinn? That's exactly what you meant. And here I thought reputation and all that crap didn't matter to you anymore."

Quinn shook her head as she started sobbing uncontrollably, so much so that she had to fight for air. "It doesn't!" she pleaded.

"I'm done here," Puck snapped, walking towards the door.

"NO! Puck…please," Quinn urged between her sobs. "Please don't leave me, we can talk about this, please don't leave –"

"You know what? I am sick and tired of being the one that's constantly left behind. I'm tired of you leaving, because it makes me feel like I'm nothing…Like you don't care or don't love me. But not this time." His harsh words lingered in the air as he flung open the door, letting it slam behind him.

Quinn crumbled to the floor as she continued to cry. Without thinking, she banged the linoleum tile with her wrist, crying out for Puck to come back even though she knew he was gone. Of course she loved him, she had always loved him, more than she had ever loved anyone else. Her mind lingered back to the past year as her tears hit the floor: kissing him at the football game, singing with him in the kitchen, dancing at Mr. Shue's wedding, crying on his shoulder during Beth's birthday, the car accident only a few weeks before…he had been there for it all: the good, the bad, the ugly. Looking back, Quinn realized that she had spent so much of her time trying to restore the broken parts of her life, that she forget to address the one that was standing right in front of her: Puck. Remembering something he had told her on Beth's birthday, she forced herself off the ground. She was done being scared, done not listening to her heart. With a sudden rush of energy, Quinn burst outside. The rain was falling down heavily now as she clambered down the steps. The downpour made it difficult for her to see, but looking to her left, she could vaguely spot a figure under the streetlamp.

"PUCK!" she yelled, running, barefoot down the streets of New York towards him. She was immediately drenched, but she either didn't care or didn't notice as she ran towards him. "PUUUCCK!"

He stopped when she was only a few feet behind him and turned to face her. Despite the rain, Quinn could tell that he had been crying too.

"Is that really why you think I leave?"she half-yelled, half-cried. "Because I don't care about you?! Because I don't love you!? Because that is the complete opposite of what is true. I run away because I love you so damn much!" she admitted. "I love you so much that it scares the hell out of me! Because I've never loved anyone like I've loved you before. And I can't bear the thought of ever loosing you."

Quinn took a deep breath as she took a step closer to him. He was standing there wordlessly, staring at her with a look in his eye that Quinn couldn't place. The rain had soaked through their clothes and Quinn's hair tangled around her tear-streaked face. But none of that seemed to matter as she spoke.

"I was standing there," Quinn continued on, nodding towards the building, "thinking about everything we've been through together. And I remembered what you told me on Beth's birthday," she let out a sob before continuing, "you told me, that no matter what, a part of our heart will always belong to Beth. And then…. then," Quinn let out another dry sob, "then I realized that the other part of my heart will always belong to you. And that I don't have to be scared, because no matter what happens between us, we'll always find our way back together. Because we belong together. You belong to me Puck. You belong to me. You always have and always –"

But before she could finish her sentence, Puck's lips were on hers, the two of them kissing passionately under the soft glow of the street lamp. She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck, pulling him closer as they continued to kiss. Their breaths warm compared to their drenched bodies. It had been so long since they had kissed like this, but it felt like no time had passed at all. It felt like they were doing this all along. It felt so completely and indescribably right.

"I love you," Quinn said, her breath ragged, as they pulled away.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear you say that," Puck grinned, pulling her back down so he could kiss her again. This one though, was less determined, less rushed, and his lips just grazed over hers.

"I love you too," he said, leaning his forehead against hers. "Especially now."

"Especially now," Quinn repeated.

"You belong to me. You always have."

"Promise me this is for real this time? Promise me we won't mess around and screw this up?"

"Promise," he muttered against her lips. "I'm not ever letting you go again."

"I won't give you any reason to."

The pair kissed again, holding each other as close as possible, completely ignorant of the rain crashing down on them and the few people watching from the street. It had been a long time coming, but after all, the best things in life are worth waiting for.


	19. Epilogue

**Wow there is so much to say that I actually don't know where to start! First of all, I would like to apologize for the ridiculously long wait; it's many, many months overdue! I would literally write a section of this chapter then delete it, then re-write the section, then delete it again. I wanted to make sure it ended the way I envisioned it to :) So if you are still reading this now then thank you so much, it really means the world to me! **

**Honestly, I think apart of me really didn't want this story to end. It was my first fanfiction story, and I remember being so nervous to upload it. But the amount of support and encouragement I have gotten throughout has been so incredibly amazing! I would like to thank every single person who so much as glanced at this story – a special thank you to everyone who read, alerted, reviewed and messaged me about it along the way. I truly cannot thank you enough! I love you all! Special thank you to **** 777, wani, BEYONCE FAN51, ****msdiannaagron****, ****agronderwood, ****LayLayandMikey1997****, ****SparksFly3737****, ****BMontague****, ****Jamber111, and ****Quinn101 for the reviews! Your comments were all so incredibly sweet and beautiful; they made me want to cry a little! :)**

**Bonus points to anyone who picks up the line from Grey's Anatomy in this chapter!**

**I hope you enjoy the epilogue; I do really love happy endings and I wanted to give all the characters/relationships closure. It truly has been amazing writing this story, thanks to all of you! Maybe there will be an epilogue someday :) **

**Okay, enough of my ramblings…**

"Oh Quinnie, you look so beautiful," her mother said, as she fastened the last button on back of her dress. Quinn felt the final tug as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, the moment reminding her of a familiar one that happened not that long ago.

_Quinn sucked in her breath. "Please go up, please go up," she willed in her mind as her mother pulled up on the zipper of her dress for the chastity ball. She wished that the queasy feeling in her stomach wasn't more than just nerves. But she wished a lot of things lately. _

"_Oh sweetie," Judy said from behind Quinn, "I am so proud of you. You know how important the chastity ball is to your father. You just look so beautiful; it reminds me of my first ball."_

_Quinn felt her mother's cool fingers on her back as she tugged on the zipper a little bit harder, forcing it to go up little by little. _

_She couldn't believe she was in this situation. The celibacy club president. Former captain of the cheerios. Girlfriend to the most popular guy in school. And now it was all disappearing, one by one. She couldn't let Finn slip through her fingers. He was all she had left holding her atop the school's popularity pyramid. Once people found out about her little 'situation', she knew that she was going to fall and fall hard. More than that, she knew that once her parents found out, she wouldn't have that many people left to depend on. She had kicked so many people to the ground and now here she was, about to be kicked down herself, all because of one stupid night. _

_As much as she wanted to give Puck a chance, she couldn't. She needed what little dignity she had left. So she ignored the feeling she got in the pit of her stomach whenever she saw him or when they accidently bumped into each other in the hallway. She pretended she didn't care about him when she really did. Everyday she vowed to herself that Finn couldn't find out. Maybe if she pretended everything was fine for long enough, she would begin to believe it herself. _

"_That's odd," Judy said, frowning as the zipper stopped moving. She felt her mother's hand tense up and Quinn resisted the urge to look back. If she made direct eye contact, she would give it away immediately, she knew she would. "We had this custom made a month ago." Judy tugged a little harder to no avail. _

_Quinn felt her heart quicken, "I…I had a really big lunch today at school," she fibbed. "A really big order of tacos." Her eyes widened in fright and she forced herself not to cry. "And this girl from Glee club, Mercedes, shared her tater tots with me." _

"_What the hell am I saying," Quinn thought to herself, as Judy continued to pluck and pull at the fabric. _

_But as Quinn glanced up at her reflection in the mirror, she could already see it in her mother's eyes. Judy Fabray knew about her little secret. Quinn held her breath and waited for mom to say something, anything at all. The pounding in her heart grew louder and louder, and she swore it could have burst into a million tiny pieces and those pieces would have kept on beating just the same. She bit down on her lip. A few minutes ago she was praying that no one would find out; but now she was wishing with all her might that her mother would grab her hand and let her cry into her shoulder. She needed her more than ever. She needed her mom. Quinn opened her mouth to speak, but beat her to it. _

"_Oh no worries sweetie…we'll take it down to the tailor's tomorrow and get it let out a little. I just don't think you've been getting enough exercise ever since you quit the cheerios. I really don't understand why you chose to quit?"_

_Quinn swallowed hard. "Because it's not my dream, it's yours," she wanted to say, but managed to bite down on her lip before the words slipped out. Her mother knew Quinn was pregnant, but here she was, still pretending everything was perfect. And Quinn knew she had no choice but to go along with it._

"_Yeah…yeah you're right. I just wanted a change, I guess."_

"_I mean you used to spend hours everyday doing backflips and high kicks, and now you spend all your time sitting on a stool in the dark sitting show tunes. You know how many calories you burn singing?"_

_Quinn forced back an eye roll. _

"_Not very many…"_

_For once in her life, Quinn was actually relieved to have her father burst into the room. She faked a giggle as Russell pretended to cover his eyes from seeing Quinn in the dress for the chastity ball. _

"_Oh I can't see my little girl now!" Russell teased. "It's not the ball yet!_

"_Daddy, it's not like we're getting married," Quinn replied, plastering a smile on her face._

"_Ahhhh there's my princess," Russell beamed proudly as he got closer and opened his eyes. "Oh look at you," he said, as he stepped back to admire Quinn in her white eyelet dress. Judy kept her hand firmly planted on the back zipper, concealing it. _

"_Speaking of getting married, how's that boy you've been dating? Finn?"_

"_He's not pressure you at all, is he?" Judy asked, and Quinn felt her mother staring straight at her, trying to figure out something that she already knew. _

"_Of course not, he's a gentlemen; Finn's a good guy." The queasy feeling grew stronger and that wasn't even a lie._

_She felt sick to her stomach and suppressed the urge to vomit. In that moment, she couldn't tell if it was a classic case of morning sickness or the thought of what she did to Finn that caused it. _

"_Well, no one's ever good enough for my princess," Russell prided. _

_Quinn forced a smile, trying to look anywhere but into her father's eyes. Every time she made eye contact, she felt the guilt wash over her time and time again. And every time she saw his clear, icy blue eyes staring back at her, all she could envision was the shame and hatred that would fill them when he found out she was pregnant. Right now, those eyes showed so much love for his youngest daughter, so much pride. And Quinn wanted to savour it for as long as she possibly could. She had spent her whole life trying to make her father proud of her, like he was of Frannie. She joined the cheerleading team and fought her way to captain, she became president of the celibacy club, dated the most popular boy in school and one day she would win Prom Queen too. She tried to make her life fit into that perfect mold that had been laid out for her. But it didn't feel like enough. Those things didn't make her feel happy or complete. _

_All Quinn had ever wanted to feel loved. And the one thing she didn't understand was how the bad boy who slept with the entire cheerleading team could make her feel more loved that her own family or Finn could. It wasn't supposed to be that way. But despite how screwed up and wrong it was, it felt right. And nothing scared Quinn more. _

"Earth to Fabray!" Santana bellowed. "Are you day dreaming over there?"

Quinn jumped a little at the sound of Santana's voice. She shook her head slightly, "Sorry, I was just…just thinking about everything," Quinn said softly, a smile spreading across her face. "We've all come so far," she added, looking around the room at her family and closest friends – the people who had been her family when no one else was.

Judy kissed her daughter on the cheek, pulling her long blonde hair behind her and resting her hand on Quinn's shoulder. "I'm so proud of you Quinnie, I hope you know that."

"I know mom," Quinn said, placing her hand over her mom's and squeezing it tight.

"Your father would have wanted to be here, I know he would have."

"I know that too." Maybe that wasn't the truth. Quinn would never truly know. But she knew that agreeing made Judy feel better, so she went along with it. And if she was being completely honest with herself, she liked to believe that would have been the case.

A part of Quinn would always regret how things ended between her and her father, and a part of her would always be hurt. But now she chose to remember what she wanted to remember about him. Like how he would always take her to a baseball game in the summer and how she would fall asleep in his arms before the fifth inning. Or how he would always come into her room before school with a cup of coffee prepared just to her liking. Or how he always brought home mint chocolate chip ice cream on Saturday. She liked to think that Russell would have been there on her wedding day if he could have been.

"Puck…er…man…" Santana repeated, sounding out each syllable, bringing Quinn back to reality again. "You do realize that I won't be able to call you that for much longer, don't you?" Santana asked, coming to stand next to her best friend in front of the mirror.

"I guess not; I never really thought about that before. Quinn Puckerman," she said out loud, testing the words on her lips. "It has a nice ring to it."

"Not bad, I must admit. But you'll always be Fabray to me," Santana added, playfully nudging Quinn in the side.

"She means that too," Rachel added. "I've been married for three years, and I'm still Berry to her."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Promise me something Q."

"Anything."

"Promise me that you'll never let Puck forget that you could do better than him."

"SANTANA!" Rachel yelled, swatting at Santana's arm.

"It's the truth Rach. I know. You know. Even he knows it. But just don't let him ever forget it Q."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "That should be your job, not Quinn's."

"Even better. I can give Puckerman whatever ass whipping he may need in the future."

Quinn laughed, shaking her head at her friends. She looked at her reflection in the mirror again, letting out a shaky and nervous breath. The day she had dreamed about since she was five was finally here. Her white dress fitted her perfectly, gathering tightly around the bust and jutting out slightly at her hips. Her long blonde hair fell in loose waves along her back. It all felt a little surreal.

"Do you guys mind giving me a minute alone for a second?" she questioned.

"Of course," Frannie replied, air kissing her sister on the cheek before leaving the room. Quinn smiled back, happy that her and her sister were actually like sisters now. Maybe it wasn't perfect between them, but it was something.

"We'll see you soon," Rachel said, her eyes bright with excitement and her smile wide. "And then you'll be walking down the aisle!" she let out a little shriek, as she followed Judy and Fran outside into the reception area of the country club.

Brittany paused behind Rachel, turning to face Quinn. Without saying a word, she leaned in and wrapped her hands around her, squeezing her tight. Quinn felt tears well up in her eyes at the gesture, as she tightly hugged her friend back.

"I love you B."

"I love you too."

Brittany blew Quinn a kiss before grabbing Santana's awaiting hand and leaving Quinn alone with her thoughts.

xxxx

"Shit," Puck mumbled under his breath, running a hand over his head, forgetting that his Mohawk wasn't there anymore. Quinn had insisted that he shave it off for the wedding and after much reluctance and quite a few bribes on her end, he agreed. But he still kind of missed the comfort that it gave him. "Holy shit I'm getting married today," he said, pacing across the room, his tie loosely hanging around his neck.

"Dude relax, you're going to be fine," Finn said, his voice even and calm.

"I'm getting married today!" Puck yelled a little louder, his pace quickening with each step.

"Is this a good reaction or a bad one?" Jake asked quietly, turning to look at Finn, as they both watched Puck freak out.

"Not entirely sure…" Finn muttered under his breath so that Puck couldn't hear them.

"Well are you two ladies going to stop gossiping or what?" he snapped.

"Puck, you have to chill," Jake said, grabbing him by the shoulders to stop him from moving.

"Oh God. What if she doesn't show up?" Puck asked, his eyes wide with fright at the possible scenario his mind just conjured up. "What if she finally realizes that she can do better than me? What if she pulls a fucking Julia Roberts, or whatever her name is, and runs away like in that movie…"

"She's not going to run-away," Jake insisted.

"Oh! Runaway Bride!" Finn said suddenly, "I love that movie!"

Puck turned around sharply, shooting him the death glare. "Will you shut-up already?"

"Sorry…it's just, you know, one of Rachel's favourite movies…" he trailed off, noticing the unamused expression on Puck's face. Finn winced. "Sorry. Ill shut-up now."

"I'm just having a major freak-out here. No need to talk about your favourite rom-coms or anything."

Finn sighed, remembering how his nerves got the better of him on his wedding day too. He gripped Puck by the shoulders, forcing him to take a seat in the chair. "Puck, look at me? You love Quinn. And Quinn loves you. You guys are meant to be. Look at how much the two of you have been through together, and look at where you are now. You can survive anything. We all know how much you love her. We knew even when you two didn't. So you need to take a deep breath and calm down. Because you are about to marry the love of your life."

Puck followed Finn's instructions, allowing himself to take a deep breath, as he closed his eyes for a second. He saw a flash of Quinn in a wedding dress and even the virtual sight of her made him calm down instantly.

"Did you really mean that?" he asked, looking up at Finn. "Did you really know that I liked her all along? Even when you were dating her?"

Finn sighed, taking a seat in the chair across from Puck's. "Yeah," he said, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "I remember the first time we both saw her…we had just finished football practice, and we were walking across the field to the locker rooms. The Cheerios had just come out. And there she was, leading the pack of course. She was standing with Santana and Brittany. Sue was yelling orders at the three of them, but not one of them flinched."

Puck let out a bit of a soft chuckle as Finn spoke of the day that stood out so clearly in his mind. "I proposed to her in that very spot," Puck commented. "It was the first time I saw her with that pissed off expression on her face. And it certainly wasn't the last time either. She was standing there with her hands on her hips. Her brow was furrowed. And her lips were pursed together slightly. The classic 'angry' Quinn look," Puck added, shaking his head slightly at the memory.

"I remember thinking she was pretty hot," Finn continued, at which point he was cut off by a swift punch in the arm.

"Hey! That's my fiancé!"

"Dude, I'm trying to tell a nice story! She was my girlfriend first, you know!?"

Puck cleared this throat. "Sorry, carry on."

"I looked over at you then, and you had this expression on your face that I had never seen before. It was like you were in awe, like you couldn't believe she was real; an angel sent from heaven or something. I could see it in your eyes that this girl was different than the other ones. I could tell every time we hung out that you liked her."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry that I went after her when I knew how you felt. I was an ass, and I don't think I ever apologized for that."

Puck rolled his eyes, "Please. You don't owe me any apologies Finn. I owe them all to you. I was a crappy friend more than a few times. Thanks for forgiving me and for always being there man," he held out his hand for a shake.

Finn shook his head, as he reached out and shook Puck's outstretched hand. The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, before pulling each other in for a hug and slapping each other on the back.

xxxxx

Everything felt like a dream. Was it really only five years ago that she moved to New York with Rachel and Finn? It felt like it was both a lifetime and just a couple of days ago. Quinn closed her eyes for a second, seeing the last few years of her life flash before her eyes like a film role.

"_Did you love me?"_

"_Yes. Especially now."_

The last three words were ones that never left her. Over the years, whenever she was confronted with sadness or pain, they would often float back into her mind. There were times when she and Puck acted like complete strangers, ignoring everything they once shared. And there were times when she felt like he was the only one who understood her; the only one she could actually depend on. But those three simply words never failed to remind her of every moment they once shared, some that she wished she could erase and some that she wished she could lock up forever.

There was a knock at the door followed by Finn's voice.

"Do you mind if I come in?"

"Of course not," Quinn said, turning to face the door as he entered.

Finn's jaw dropped at the sight of her. "Wow, you look beautiful," he said, taking a step closer to her. "Puck's a lucky guy."

Quinn felt her face flush at the compliment. "Thanks," she replied, a soft smile on her face.

"You're not here to tell me that Puck ran away are you?" she joked, but she was honestly a little scared to hear the truth.

"No," Finn laughed, shaking his head. "No running away. He's freaking out a little, but he's excited."

Quinn felt herself let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in. "Oh, thank God. It seems like a Puck thing to do…don't tell him I told you that though," she added, looking at him in a half-teasing, half-warning way.

"I won't, promise. I just…I just wanted to come by and tell you how happy I am for the two of you."

Quinn tilted her head to the side, her smile widening even more. "Thank you Finn; it really means a lot."

"You know…I've known Puck since I was five. I've seen the best and the worst in him. And his best moments are always when you are there by his side. You make him a better guy. And he'd be the first to admit it."

Quinn felt herself grinning at Finn's comment. "Well he is one of the few who can handle my craziness. I'm sure he'd be the first to admit that too."

Finn chuckled, wrinkling his nose slightly. "Look, I know we've had our fair share of ups and downs over the years," he said, earning a smile from Quinn in reply. "But even if I could, I wouldn't change a thing," Finn paused, starting to feel himself getting a bit emotional. "I'm grateful for all the craziness."

Quinn forced back the tears as Finn spoke. She willed herself not to cry and ruin her make-up, but she knew she was super close to losing it completely.

"I wouldn't change a thing either," she whispered, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "You were always there for me. Even after all the shit I put you through, you were always there. And I know that no matter what happens, you always will be…" she gulped and closed her eyes for a brief second, trying to collect herself. "Thank you," she added quietly. "Thank you," she repeated, squeezing Finn's hand even tighter.

Quinn felt a tear fall down her cheek and quickly wiped it away. "God, I promised myself I wasn't going to cry today," she joked, chuckling slightly through the tears.

"I'm sure Rachel will still cry more... you know how weddings make her get crazy emotional."

Quinn raised her eyebrows in response, believing that there was more to her friend's emotions than just wedding talk, but she managed to cover it up with a smile pretty quickly. "Every Berry loves a good wedding."

"I mainly came here to tell you that Puck is my best friend, and I love him. I do. But you…you're like my sister Q. And if he ever hurts you, I swear I'll beat his ass and kick him to the curb."

Quinn felt the tears well in her eyes again, but this time she knew she wouldn't be able to stop them. She let them fall freely down her face, as she wrapped her arms around Finn and buried her face in his chest. "You have no idea how much that means to me," she choked out.

Finn was her family. He took her in when she had no other place to go, he called her out on her actions when she was so desperate to win prom queen and he sat by her bedside in the hospital after the car accident. Puck, Rachel, Finn, Santana and Brittany had been her family when no one else had been. They had loved her even when she didn't love herself. They made her whole again. And that was only one of the reasons she loved them so much.

"I love you, you know that right?" Quinn asked, looking up at Finn.

"Of course I know; I love you too."

Quinn pulled back from the hug, wiping away the tears from her cheeks.

"I should probably go and let you finish getting ready. I think there's a wedding soon or something…" Finn teased. "I hear it's a pretty big deal…two people who denied their feelings for each other for years."

"Well, sometimes it just takes some people a little longer to figure it out."

A rap at the door interrupted their playful banter.

"Mind if I take over for a second," Mr. Shue asked, leaning against the doorframe in his black tuxedo.

"Of course, I was just leaving. See you out there Q," Finn added, wiggling his eyebrows in excitement, as he patted Will on the shoulder on the way out.

"You look beautiful Quinn," Mr. Shue said, as he came to stand in front of Quinn.

"Thanks Mr. Shue."

"You know that you can call me Will now, right?"

Quinn tilted her head to the side, observing him. "I know, I guess it just doesn't feel right. You'll always be Mr. Shue to me."

Will felt his heart swell with pride at the young woman standing before him. It felt like just yesterday that she was a scared girl in the choir room worried that she would be stuck in Lima forever. Now here she was, a young woman about to marry the love of her life. "You ready?" Will asked, holding out his arm.

Quinn closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I've been dreaming of this day since I was five, I just can't believe that it's finally here." She reached out to grab his hand when she remembered something she had shoved in her bag earlier that day.

"Oh just a second, I forgot something," Quinn said, as she rummaged through the pocket of her purse, pulling out a velvet box. From it, she gently picked up the diamond cross necklace that her father had left for her in his will. "I need my something old and something borrowed," she said, smiling sadly, as she held out the necklace to the light. "Will you put it on for me?" Quinn asked softly, lifting up her blonde hair so that Mr. Shue could fasten the necklace.

Quinn pressed her hand to her chest, feeling the coolness of the silver against her skin. She smiled to herself with the comfort that at least a part of her father was here with her today. "Okay. Now I'm ready."

xxxxx

Puck and Quinn had chosen to get married on the beautiful outside terrace of Lima's best country club, with their closest friends and family by their side. The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. There was a light scent of lavender floating in the air. Kurt, who would be marrying them, hummed quietly under his breath. However, Puck noticed none of this. He stood frozen at the altar, unaware of his surroundings; his eyes stared straight ahead as he waited for the ceremony to start. His heart was beating so fast that for a second he feared that this was all a dream and that he would wake up any second and be back in Lima cleaning pools again. The firm weight of Finn's hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality. Out of his peripheral vision, he could see his brother and Mike Chang standing by his side.

"She looks beautiful dude," Finn said under his breath.

Puck let out a shaky breath and nodded at Finn's words, which only managed to calm him down for a few slight seconds, as the processional music began to play right after.

At that moment, Puck looked up to see his little girl bounding down the aisle. Her blonde curls were bouncing everywhere, and she had a smile on her face that always managed to melt Puck's heart. Beth was wearing the most precious white dress, and Puck immediately knew that Quinn had spent a lot of time looking for the perfect one. He couldn't believe she was already seven years old. The grin on Beth's face immediately calmed Puck's nerves, and he winked at her playfully as she reached the end of the aisle and went to sit in the front row next to Shelby.

Puck watched in anticipation and nervousness as Rachel walked down the aisle next, followed by Brittany, both of them smiling at him as they took their spots at the altar.

Santana entered next, the fierce red and tight fitting form of her dress attracting more than a few of the male eyes in the crowd. "Little did they know," Puck thought to himself, almost smirking a little, as Santana joined them.

"You hurt her, I bust you balls," she gritted through her teeth, still maintaining a perfect smile.

"Duly noted," he replied clearly under his breath.

"Well you clean up nice Frankenteen," she whispered to Finn, as she took her spot across from him.

"As do you Satan."

"I prefer ruler of all things evil, but I will take Satan."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Oh shut-up you two."

Normally Puck would shush them, but their pointless bickering was a familiar source of comfort.

A new song started, indicating the bride's arrive, and the crowd stood up as Quinn emerged. Puck instantly felt his heart drop when he saw her. Before that moment, he didn't think it was possible for Quinn to be anymore beautiful, but he was proven wrong. Her long blonde hair fell loosely around her shoulders, and the ivory white of the dress made her glow from within. But it was the smile on her and the gleam in her eye that made his breath catch in his throat. And for the millionth time that day, he couldn't understand why she was choosing to marry him. He was the damn luckiest guy in the world.

Quinn bit her lip halfway down the aisle trying to keep herself from crying. She felt Puck's eyes on hers, and she stared straight back at him, unable to take her eyes off of him. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of how much she loved him; how he knew her better than she knew herself; how he put her back together again. She couldn't believe that she was finally marrying the man of her dreams. Her soul mate. Her one true love. As Puck smiled down at her with so much love in his eyes, Quinn knew that this would always be one of the happiest moments of her life.

She felt Mr. Shue squeeze her hand in reassurance as they neared the altar.

"I'm so proud of you," he said softly under his breath. He gently pulled back the delicate veil from her face. "You were always one of my favourites," he said, kissing her on the cheek and giving her hand over to Puck.

"Thank you," Puck whispered, a smile gracing his face.

The two men shook hands, and Will felt tears sting his eyes as he took his seat in the front row.

Kurt gave them both a few seconds to let all the wonderment and excitement to sink in before he began. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in the bonds of holy matrimony."

Puck and Quinn looked up at each other, as they locked eyes; a wide smile spread across both their faces.

Kurt continued, "I have known Puck and Quinn for a very long time. I have seen them together and apart. And I think we can all agree that they make each other better people. They truly are perfect for each other, even if it did take them a lot longer to realize it -" Kurt said, earning a hearty laugh from the audience. "Regardless, I think that they have known all along that they are meant to be."

Puck and Quinn stared intensely into each other's eyes, both letting out a bit of a laugh at Kurt's words.

"We will now have the vows. Quinn, would you like to go first?"

Quinn smiled, letting out a shaky breath as Santana handed her the vows she had written a couple of weeks ago. "Puck," she began, looking up to meet his gaze for a brief second, "for so long I wondered if I would ever find the man of my dreams, my one true love, my soul mate. Then 10 years ago, I met you. I turned to you one night when I was upset and it changed our lives forever. And although it took me a while, I finally realized that everything I was looking for my whole life was right before my very eyes. Because you understand me better than I understand myself. We've been through so much together, and I know that know matter what comes come our way, you will always be there for me. Some people are just meant to be. You and I are one of them." Quinn wiped a few tears away as she finished her vows, her heart filling with love.

Puck wanted to lunge forward and kiss her right then and there.

"Puck," Kurt said, motioning in his directly.

Finn leaned forward to hand him his vows, but Puck shook his head, pushing the paper away.

"No, that's okay."

"I spent a lot of time trying to write my vows but everything I wrote didn't seem good enough. And then I finally realized that there are not enough words in the dictionary to sum up how I feel about you and how much I love you. Quinn, you are the love of my life. I've known it since the very first day I laid eyes on you. Whenever I was with you, I felt complete. And for once in my life, I knew what it felt like to have someone believe in me, to have someone see past my exterior. And even though I tried not to, every thing you did made me fall deeper and deeper in love with you. I love everything about you. We haven't exactly had an easy past, but I know that no matter what the future holds, it will be okay, because we have each other. And all I've ever wanted is you."

Puck broke out into a wide smile as he finished, looking down at the ground trying to regain his composure. When he looked up, he found Quinn staring at him with an expression filled with so much love and desire. Puck leaned forward slightly towards her, the lack of contact driving him insane.

"Not yet," Kurt hissed under his breath, noticing Puck's fervent.

"Well hurry up all ready Hummel!" Puck said eagerly, earning a few chuckles.

"Alright, alright," Kurt mumbled under his breath, before turning his attention back to Quinn. "Quinn, do you take this man to be your husband?"

"I do," Quinn replied, her right hand covering her mouth as she tried to suppress the tears building in her eyes, as Puck slipped the ring onto her finger.

"And Puck, do you take this woman to be your wife?"

"You bet I do," he grinned, as Quinn slipped the ring onto his finger in return.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may NOW kiss the bride!"

"Finally," Puck cheered, as he leaned in and captured Quinn's lips with his own. Her hands found the back of his neck as his snuck around her waist drawing her closer. The crowd cheered in the background, as they both pulled away, staring lovingly into one another's eyes. Neither of them ever wanted to let go.

xxxxx

Quinn watched from afar as Beth stood on Puck's feet as he swung her across the dance floor, even going for a dramatic dip at the end. The sound of Beth's giggles made Quinn's heart flutter with joy. She tilted her head to the side slightly as she watched with wonder at how sweet they were together. Puck looked up then, meeting Quinn's gaze, and he smiled brightly at her. "I love you," he mouthed, making Quinn blush as she mouthed the same words back.

Quinn moved her gaze across the room, letting them settle on Brittany and Santana who were both sipping champagne (while more like chugging champagne in Santana's case) and chatting animatedly. Brittany's arm was around Santana's shoulder, and they both looked so madly in love that Quinn knew their wedding wasn't that far off. As she turned around, she could see Rachel talking excitedly with Finn in the distance. Rachel had a hand placed on her stomach. In that moment, Quinn knew that her early intuition hadn't been wrong. She grinned as Finn practically pounced on Rachel, smothering her with kisses.

"What are you looking at?" a voice said from behind her, as a pair of hands wrapped themselves around Quinn's waist.

She hummed in pleasure, turning her head to look up at Puck. "I'm just thinking…"

Puck leaned down, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "About what…?" he asked, as he moved down lower to kiss her neck.

"Oh just how far we've all come. And how even more whipped Finn is going to be once baby Hudson arrives."

"Yeah...wait, what?!" he asked, Quinn's words finally settling in.

Quinn shrugged happily. "See for yourself," she said, gesturing towards Finn who was staring intently at Rachel's stomach, as if he was trying to process everything.

Puck laughed at his friend's face, pulling Quinn even tighter against him. "They'll be good parents. That kid will be spoiled rotten."

"Speaking of which, where is your dancing partner?" Quinn asked, looking around for Beth.

"She's with Shelby. My awesome dance skills tired her out."

"Ahhh I see," she replied, leaning happily back against Puck's chest.

"Speaking of dancing, may I have this dance Mrs. Puckerman?" Puck said, offering his hand.

Quinn giggled, wondering if she would ever get used to her new last name. "I'd be honoured."

Puck took her hand and led her out onto the dance floor, as he put his arms around her waist. He wasted absolutely no time in spinning her around and dipping her down more than a few times. Quinn shrieked in surprise, feeling like she was a 16-year-old girl in love for the very first time again. As he pulled her back up, she wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him even closer to her and pulling him in for another kiss.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear. Hearing those three words from Puck never failed to give Quinn goose bumps, even if she had already heard them five times that day.

"I love you too."

As she stood there swaying with Puck on the dance floor, Quinn realized that maybe everything does happen for a reason. She used to think that she wasn't supposed to fall in love with the boy who knocked her up sophomore year. But clearly she had been wrong. He was the person she had always pushed away the most, but he was the one who always came back. He was the one who loved her regardless of her craziness, the one who stuck up for her even when he knew she was wrong, the one who told her that she was beautiful every single day. Some people were just made for each other. So maybe it had taken them both a while to figure it out and maybe it hadn't been easy. But then again, nothing that's worthwhile is ever easy.

**I hope you liked it! Thank you again! :) **


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